Gulf Binance Co, a joint venture between the world's largest crypto exchange and SET-listed Gulf Energy Development, aims to become the top player in Thailand's thriving digital asset exchange market within two years.
To achieve this target, the company plans to focus on product differentiation, unique services, competitive fees and system security, said executives yesterday.
With its soft launch in November last year, followed by a public debut last month, the Binance TH platform has 50,000 registered customers and offered more than 115 tokens as of Feb 14, the largest number of tokens among the country's regulated digital asset exchanges.
"With the surge of crypto adoption in Thailand, we see immense potential for growth and innovation, with Gulf Binance playing a pivotal role in shaping Thailand's digital landscape," said chief executive Nirun Fuwattananukul.
According to Chainalysis, Thailand ranks 10th worldwide in terms of crypto adoption, with 21.9% of Thais embracing cryptocurrencies, nearly double the global average. The country has emerged as a hotspot for digital asset enthusiasts, Mr Nirun said.
Robust growth in developers, reaching 43% in 2022, signals strong technical support for crypto innovations in Southeast Asia, he said.
With four licences granted by the Finance Ministry and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gulf Binance operates as both a digital asset exchange and digital asset broker. As an exchange operator, the company established its own order book, allowing Thai users to buy and sell digital assets with Thai baht pairs.
As a broker, it provides crypto-to-crypto trading pairs with a US$-baht pair offered to customers. Binance TH integrated its order book with Binance Kazakhstan, a regulated platform in Kazakhstan supervised by Astana Financial Service Authority.
Mr Nirun said the Thai digital asset exchange market is fiercely competitive with 17 licensed exchange and broker operators, and two others awaiting a licence.
To attract consumers, Gulf Binance offers a competitive fee structure, offering a maximum of 0.1% for 115 dollar-baht trading pairs and 0.25% for baht trading pairs.
Thitiwat Wisarath, chief legal, compliance and risk officer, said Gulf Binance is committed to regulatory compliance with a focus on building trust, promoting digital literacy and raising awareness among the public through the provision of educational initiatives.
Another pillar of the company's roadmap for Thailand is emphasising security on the platform to ensure a high level of trust among users.
"We have worked with the SEC to raise the bar for digital asset supervision following incidents that affected public confidence. We are hoping additional requirements and updated regulations will be launched soon to regain public trust and build long-term growth in the industry," he said.