SCB 10X, a subsidiary of Thailand's oldest lender Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), is ready to make inroads in the digital token business, saying digital assets are attractive for investment and hold high potential to grow in the long term.
Token X, a subsidiary of SCB 10X, is licensed as an ICO (initial coin offering) portal by the Securities and Exchange Commission and started operations on March 23 this year, with the aim of offering full services relating to digital assets.
Digital assets is a new investment trend, said Token X's chief executive Jittinun Chatsiharach, specifying the trend covers cryptocurrency and digital tokens.
"People are getting used to cryptocurrency, which is a medium used for payment of goods. They don't much know about digital tokens," she said.
"However, we believe when investors understand the asset better, they will be confident and ready to invest in it."
Ms Jittinun said a digital token refers to an electronic data unit built on an electronic system or network for the purpose of specifying the right of a person to participate in an investment in any project or business, or acquire specific goods, services, or other rights under an agreement between the issuer and the holder.
Digital tokens can be used in many industries, she said. For example, they are currently used in real estate, film, gaming, art and entertainment industries as well as carbon credits.
Most of the digital tokens that Token X will offer investors will have an underlying reference so investors can have confidence to invest in them at an amount that suits the risk they are willing to accept and think is appropriate.
The digital asset market is inactive now because of the global economic slowdown and the rising interest rate environment, in addition to the collapse of many cryptocurrency platforms causing investors to lose confidence in this business, said Ms Jittinun.
However, the company believes that it still has growth in long-term and it would take some time for investors to regain confidence in this form of investment, she said.
So far, 10 firms have been in contact with Token X to help develop tokens for them. Their interests are in investment and utility tokens, she said.
"We are looking for support from concerned authorities in terms of measures to help reduce the cost of issuing tokens and offer more incentives for companies who are interested in issuing their tokens to attract investors."