XSpring Capital Plc (XPG) has invested 10 million baht in digital assets to explore the feasibility of investing in cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Wanchak Buranasiri, XPG's chief executive, reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday that the company has no intention of speculating on cryptocurrencies since XSpring Digital, XPG's subsidiary and a licensed initial coin offering portal, is currently applying for a licence to operate as a digital asset broker and digital asset dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Mr Wanchak said the company capped its investment in digital assets at 10 million baht.
The investment is made under the investment budget framework and the investment policy determined by the company's board of directors meeting on Aug 11 which delegated power to the Investment Committee to consider and make a final decision on this matter.
Hence, according to the company's latest consolidated financial statement on June 30, the total transaction size of the investment, based on the total value of consideration paid criteria, which gives the highest value, is equivalent to 0.12%.
Prior to making the investment, the company considered various factors such as risk assessment and potential impact, measures and mechanisms for risk management, readiness of the working system and personnel, analysis and selection of digital assets, and investment tracking tools.
XPG has also disclosed the information related to the investment via the SET's electronic information transmission system, the company's website and the annual registration statement and annual report to the SEC to ensure that investors can access accurate and sufficient data for decision making.
According to Coingecko.com, the price of Bitcoin has increased almost 100% since the beginning of the year, culminating in a fresh high of US$67,276 on Oct 21 following the debut of the Bitcoin futures exchange traded-fund on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
According to Asia Plus Securities, the US regulator's approval of the trading of such cryptocurrency-related funds on the exchange prompted demand for the cryptocurrency from institutional investors.
In addition to the fund, many big companies' adoption of Bitcoin as a payment method, such as Amazon, which announced it may start accepting the coin in the second half of the year, is also another factor driving up prices.