Founded in 2018, Thai startup Bitkub Capital Group Holdings reached unicorn status last month with a valuation of more than $1 billion. CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa stated that the cryptocurrency exchange now intends to expand to Malaysia, the Philippines and Laos, aiming to become the “Coinbase of Southeast Asia.”

The Bangkok-based cryptocurrency exchange aims to achieve tremendous growth in 2022 as it is looking for the possibility of establishing partnerships and establishing its own department in Southeast Asia. Bloomberg Report. Part of this strategy focuses on monopolizing in countries that lack larger players, which opens the door to dominate the field.

Our strategy is to expand in countries/regions where there are no clear winners, insufficient bank deposits, high social media usage, and the possibility of using cryptocurrencies for remittances…. Expansion will be achieved through new businesses or acquisitions. The goal is to become the Coinbase of Southeast Asia.

The American company Coinbase Global Inc. is an encrypted asset market whose technology provides a way to build encryption-based applications and other services. It said on the Coinbase website that they have approximately “73 million verified users, 10,000 institutions, and 185,000 ecosystem partners in more than 100 countries/regions, trusting Coinbase can easily and safely invest, consume, save, and earn And using cryptocurrency.”

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Crypto unicorns climb

Last month, after Siam Commercial Bank Plc acquired a 51% stake in the startup for 17.85 billion baht (over US$528.8 million), Bitkub achieved a 24-hour turnover. It is valued at 35 billion baht (US$1 billion).

This makes Bitkub ranked 79th among 300 international exchanges worldwide Rank Via CoinMarketCap. After the purchase announcement, the value of its native digital coins almost tripled.

Jirayut Srupsrisopa claimed at the time that “Bitkub is no longer just a start-up company, but is now an essential part of the critical infrastructure of Thailand’s financial industry.” Now, he plans to go beyond this idea.

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Although Southeast Asia’s unfriendly policies on crypto assets may be an obstacle for crypto startups to achieve such ambitious goals, Jirayut expects a brighter future, with policymakers and regulators recognizing the universal acceptance of crypto and ultimately supporting them “They can’t avoid it forever” he said.

Despite the appeals of anti-money laundering agencies and the central bank, we continue to move forward…Laws and regulations always follow innovation. Most people will give up because of these regulations. We are crazy enough to move on.

Earlier, Bitkub also became one of the three Asian platforms cooperating with MasterCard to provide users and businesses in the Asia-Pacific region with encrypted credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards. This partnership allows users to convert Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies for purchases, providing them with “choice and flexibility of payment methods”, Said Rama Sridhar, Executive Vice President of MasterCard.

Jirayut also agreed with Bitkub’s forecast of 1,350% revenue growth in 2021, reaching approximately 5 billion baht ($148 million).