Thai Financial Watchdog Asks Local Crypto Exchange to Fix Issues After Three Massive Outages

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) issued an order against a local cryptocurrency exchange to temporarily stop its operations. Bitkub has been in the headlines since the start of the year due to several outages suffered in their systems.

Crypto Exchange Suffered Three Massive Outages Since the Beginning of 2021

According to Bangkok Post, the financial watchdog gave the exchange five days, starting January 20, to solve all the technical issues. Mainly, their desktop trading platform suffered three outages since January 2.

The other incidents happened on January 3 and 16, said the local media outlet. One of the reasons behind the rising number of outages is the spike in crypto prices, specifically in bitcoin (BTC). In consequence, Bitkub couldn’t handle trading volumes, stated a source quoted by Bangkok Post.

However, after being inactive for 16 hours since the SEC’s order to temporarily shut down, Bitkub re-opened its mobile application platform for trading purposes. As of press time, Bitkub’s desktop platform remains with its operations halted.

After receiving “heavy complaints” from users about the constant interruptions in the services, the SEC reportedly decided on asking the crypto exchange to shut down.

The SEC’s board met on January 18 to discuss passing a resolution requiring Bitkub to submit the rectification plan and amending issues.

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Bitkub’s Crypto Market Share in Thailand

Bangkok Post states that Bitkub is considered the most popular crypto exchange in Thailand. In fact, they have a 97% share of the market based on the volume of accounts and daily trading.

The company reported on January 7 that they have about 800,000 active trading accounts. However, an anonymous source told the media outlet there are just 300,000 – 400,000 accounts. By quoting the person familiar with the matter, Bangkok Post explained:

The discrepancy in figures suggests there are still plenty of new accounts that have not yet been verified through the know-your-customers (KYC) process and are thus unable to be used for trading on the platform.

What do you think about the SEC’s order on the Thai crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section below.

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