Key Insights
-
KuCoin has entered the Thai crypto market by rebranding ERX Company Ltd., which recently secured a Thai SEC license, as KuCoin Thailand, offering localized digital asset services via a new exchange and mobile app.
-
The move positions KuCoin in a competitive market with eight other licensed crypto exchanges, including dominant player Bitkub, as Thailand remains active in trading despite a 2022 crypto payment ban.
BANGKOK (MarketsXplora) – Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has launched operations in Thailand through a strategic rebrand of ERX Company Ltd., the country’s first SEC-supervised digital token exchange, the firm announced on Wednesday.
The move marks KuCoin’s latest effort to expand into Southeast Asia’s growing crypto market. The exchange will operate under the name KuCoin Thailand, following ERX’s official name change effective April 22. ERX, now KuCoin Thailand, recently secured a digital asset exchange license from Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We’re strengthening our ability to offer localized solutions tailored to the Thai market,” said Att Tongyai Asavanund, CEO of ERX.
Existing ERX customers have already been migrated to the new KuCoin Thailand platform. In tandem with the rebrand, KuCoin launched a mobile app available on both Android and iOS devices, aiming to facilitate access to its services across the country.
KuCoin Enters Crowded Thai Market
KuCoin enters a competitive landscape in Thailand, where eight other digital asset exchanges currently hold licenses from the Thai SEC. These include WAAN Exchange, Gulf Binance, Thai Digital Assets Exchange, InnovestX Securities, GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, Upbit Exchange, Bitkub Online, and Orbix Trade.
Among these, Bitkub Online dominates the domestic market with a daily trading volume of approximately $70 million, according to data from CoinGecko. In comparison, KuCoin’s global platform reports a significantly higher daily volume of around $3.8 billion.
Thailand continues to be an active market for cryptocurrency trading, though regulatory constraints have tightened in recent years. While trading remains legal, the country’s central bank banned the use of crypto assets for payments in 2022. Additionally, regulators cracked down earlier this month on unlicensed foreign peer-to-peer crypto platforms in a broader effort to curb scams and prevent money laundering.
In January, Thai authorities announced a pilot program that would allow tourists to pay with Bitcoin on the island of Phuket under a sandbox scheme, though the initiative has not yet launched.
KuCoin’s expansion into Thailand comes as the firm faces ongoing legal issues in the United States. In March 2024, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued KuCoin for alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The company is currently in talks to settle the case.