Thailand moves to block Bitget as crypto exchange's local acquisition faces uncertainty

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint against Bitget’s operator, alleging the exchange served Thai users without a license from 2022 to 2025. The action casts uncertainty over Bitget’s pending acquisition of a local Thai exchange, a deal intended to secure licensed market access. The complaint targets the platform’s operating entity rather than the acquisition itself, but regulators must still sign off on the transaction. The case highlights Thailand’s tightening enforcement of crypto licensing as exchanges seek footholds in Southeast Asia. What to watch next: whether the criminal complaint delays or derails regulatory approval of Bitget’s local acquisition, and how Bitget restructures its Thai operations in the interim.