Bitget to Buy Thai Exchange Z.com EX From GMO Internet

Crypto exchange Bitget has agreed to acquire Thailand's GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), the operator of the Z.com EX exchange, U.Today, Investing.com and Cointelegraph reported on Oct. 20. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Details

The buyer is BTGT Management (Thailand), a vehicle in which Bitget holds a stake. Japan's GMO Internet, its subsidiary GMO-Z.com Holdings (Thailand) and other shareholders will transfer their entire holding. Completion depends on regulatory approvals, including consent to the change of control.

Z.com EX launched in February 2021 and is authorized by Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission and Ministry of Finance. After closing, Bitget plans to bring its own trading platform to Thai users.

Cointelegraph notes the announcement comes weeks after a roughly $388 million hack of Bitget on Sept. 24, in which attackers exploited a flaw in a third-party security product. Withdrawals were restored on Oct. 2. We covered the scale of the breach in our Q3 hacks review.

What it means for the market

Buying an already licensed exchange is a faster route into a regulated market than applying for a license from scratch, and Thailand licenses platforms while moving against unlicensed foreign ones. For Bitget it is an Asian expansion step, coming as it cuts off users from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Closing timing rests with regulators. For the live Bitcoin price, see the daily briefing.