Thailand’s crypto business is dealing with recent regulatory scrutiny after authorities accused Bitkub, one of many nation’s largest digital asset exchanges, of offering false data to regulators.
Thailand’s Securities and Change Fee (SEC) filed a legal grievance in opposition to Bitkub On-line and two former administrators over alleged false reporting linked to a 2021 cyberattack, the regulator introduced on Thursday.
The grievance names former Bitkub administrators Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who the SEC stated had been accountable for submitting firm stories in the course of the interval below investigation.
The case comes as Bitkub’s guardian firm considers a possible public itemizing, placing renewed consideration on transparency and governance at one in every of Thailand’s most outstanding crypto companies.
SEC alleges Bitkub didn’t disclose impression of hack
The SEC stated a cyberattack in Might 2021 resulted within the theft of 16 sorts of digital property from Bitkub, price about 1.7 billion baht ($50 million).
The regulator alleged that Bitkub later changed the stolen property by Oct. 31, 2021, however didn’t precisely mirror the impression of the incident in its every day web liquid capital stories.
Based on the SEC, stories submitted between Might 10 and Oct. 30, 2021, didn’t present a big discount within the trade’s property following the theft.
Former Bitkub administrators Sakolkorn Sakavee (left) and Thaweesap Rawan. Supply: Bangkok Publish
The regulator alleged that the omission seemed that buyer property remained unchanged and that the trade had not suffered losses from the assault.
The SEC accused Bitkub and the previous administrators of violating a number of provisions of Thailand’s digital asset laws over the alleged false disclosures. The case will now proceed by means of investigation, potential prosecution and court docket proceedings.
Bitkub says disclosure delayed to stop financial institution run
Bitkub disputed the SEC’s allegations in a submit on X, saying the case stems from disclosure selections made after the Might 2021 cyberattack quite than fraudulent conduct. The trade stated it delayed disclosing the pockets compromise to stop a financial institution run whereas it addressed the lack of the stolen property.
The corporate stated its co-founders later bought equal digital property to cowl the stolen funds, leaving neither the corporate nor its prospects with monetary losses. The corporate added that it has since strengthened its governance, compliance and safety techniques.
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Based in 2018, Bitkub has emerged as one of many largest crypto exchanges in Thailand. In accordance to CoinGecko, the platform ranks first amongst Thai crypto exchanges by belief rating and had about $712 million in every day buying and selling quantity at publishing time.
Supply: CoinGecko
In December 2025, Bitkub confirmed to Cointelegraph it was contemplating an preliminary public providing (IPO), together with a possible itemizing in Hong Kong.
Cointelegraph reached out to Bitkub for added touch upon the SEC’s grievance and its IPO plans however had not obtained a response by publication.
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