Thai exchange Bitkub shuts down new signups after SEC order

Thailand’s securities regulator has ordered the country’s largest exchange to halt registrations following a series of outages in January. Bitkub cryptocurrency exchange will now have to address five key areas as outlined by the watchdog, including integrating a system that’s better suited to handling spikes in trading volume.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent the notice to Bitkub two weeks ago following three outages in January. With the prices of most digital currencies shooting up, trading volume surged fivefold. The surge overwhelmed Bitkub’s system, leading to the outages.

The SEC sent the notice to the exchange, ordering it to fix the issues or face regulatory actions. As the Bangkok Post reported at the time, the exchange temporarily suspended its services to fix these issues. It has since then reopened these services.

However, as the paper now reports, the SEC still found Bitkub’s system insufficient to accommodate the current trading volume. It has since then ordered the exchange to suspend new registrations until it fixes all its system issues. This will include halting all pending confirmations and identity verification processes for new clients.

In its statement, the watchdog ordered the exchange to address five key areas before it can resume its normal services. These include providing a trading system that’s able to handle the trading volume it projects will take place in the future. The system must also be set to allow users to withdraw all their assets in case of a system outage. Bitkub must also have in place a system that allows its users to file complaints and have them addressed by its customer service representatives. It will also have to provide a business continuity plan for emergency cases.

Lastly, Bitkub must also provide a verification system that can accurately prove its users’ identities. The exchange has reported to have over 800,000 active trading accounts. However, an unnamed source told the Bangkok Post that only about half these accounts have had their identities verified.

Bitkub has pledged to fix all the issues raised by the regulator and to continue working with the watchdog in the future. The exchange currently dominates the Thai market, with some reports putting its market share at over 90%.

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