Bitcoin Co traders migrate to rivals

There has been a considerable migration following the termination of Bitcoin Co Ltd (bx.in.th) to two other authorised digital asset exchanges amid lacklustre trade in virtual assets.

The number of traders has increased by around 10 times from 10,000-20,000 accounts to 120,000 for Satang Pro Exchange, said Poramin Insom, founder of Satang Corporation Co.

Jirayut Srupsrisopa, co-founder and chief executive of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co Ltd, said around 90% of BX traders have migrated to Bitkub, resulting in an increase of trading accounts to 200,000 and higher trade volume of 150-200 million baht per day.

There are still assets deposited in BX worth around 250 million baht, of which cash makes up 50-60 million, said Mr Jirayut.

Earlier, Bhume Bhumiratana, IT adviser at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Bitcoin Co's decision to cease its business operations could be because it did not want to be involved with regulated digital asset transactions, which could be inconvenient for some customers.

There has been no further statement from the SEC following BX's last trading day on Sept 30.

BX, formerly the largest exchange of digital assets in Thailand, said in its online statement in early September it would cease its operations "to focus on other business opportunities", igniting a price slump for digital assets traded on the exchange.

The company said it will not seek to hold an SEC licence for digital asset exchanges for 2020, and customers are asked to withdraw their funds before Nov 1. After Nov 1, the website will be operated "only as a method for customers to contact the company about outstanding issues."

Attempts by the Bangkok Post to contact founder and chief executive David Barnes were unsuccessful.

"If we have more information, we will announce [it] on our website and social media only," said Bitcoin Co in an email response to the Bangkok Post.

Bitcoin Co started handling small-scale trading, reaching a zenith when the price of bitcoin peaked in 2017. The company handled 1.5 billion baht worth of bitcoin transactions two years ago, said Mr Barnes.

Bitcoin Co was one of the first three companies approved as a digital asset exchange.