One of the biggest concerns related to digital currencies has been the volatility of the market, even with exchange services themselves. This was on full display on September 2, when it was announced that Thailand based crypto exchange service Bitcoin Co. LTD would be ceasing operations. This is to take effect on November 1 of this year.
While not officially closing down until November 1, they did announce that they would discontinue all forms of trading within the next four weeks. In a statement on their website, they stated, “We thank our loyal customers for using our BX.in.th services over the past 5 years and trust you have been happy with the service provided. Please note that all fund[s] are completely safe and all customers will receive 100% of their funds returned to them.”
Customers were told that they have until November 1 to withdrawal their funds from their account. They even went as far as to assure customers that they would still be support and guidance provided during this process should a customer have any issues trying to withdrawal their assets. The ability to deposit funds will be disabled after September 6 and all trading will be discontinued as of September 30.
The exchange service has been in business for five years and had a Digital Asset Exchange license that was valid through 2020. They have followed the regulations of the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, and there was no indication that the exchange service was in trouble in any way. This is what was so stunning. It literally appears that this announcement came from out of nowhere.
This news had a dramatic impact on the crypto market in Thailand. Traders immediately began dumping SegWitCoin (BTC) after the announcement was made, pushing the value of the cryptocurrency down THB 200,000, or about $6,500 from its original value when trading began. It was being traded at $9,050 at Coinmarketcap.com at the time this article was posted but has had values of as much as $9,763 on other exchanges.
Despite the setback, Thailand has been doing everything possible to entice the latest technology to be employed in their country. They are still on track to use IBM’s Tradelens blockchain solution to monitor shipping coming into the ports of Thailand. The implementation of this platform will make tracking products coming into the country a lot more efficient and secure.
It does not appear that this announcement is affecting any other crypto exchanges within the country.
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