Stephanie Douse 
As part of a deliberate effort to obtain exposure to the digital asset sector, Thailand-based Gulf Energy has made significant investments in cryptocurrency exchange Binance US and highlighted its pursuit of a partnership with the global Binance exchange.
Gulf Energy declared its investment in “Series Seed Preferred Stock issued by BAM Trading Services Inc.,” the operator of Binance US, in a regulatory filing on April 18. Gulf Energy’s investment in Binance US gives it access to “one of the world’s fastest user scale-up exchanges” well ahead of the exchange’s scheduled initial public offering, according to the company.
Binance’s global cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, revealed in July 2021 that the company was looking into options for a public offering.
Gulf Energy reported in a separate filing on Monday that it is pursuing a “joint venture” with Binance to run a cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand. The newly created organization will apply for digital asset licenses with the appropriate authorities once the joint venture is founded. Gulf’s disclosure also revealed investments in Binance Coin (BNB), the Binance ecosystem’s native crypto asset.
Gulf Energy and Binance have been working together for several months as the cryptocurrency exchange seeks to re-establish operations in the Southeast Asian country. Thailand’s securities authority accused Binance of illegally conducting a digital asset business in the country in July 2021. Several other governments, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Cayman Islands, and the Canadian province of Ontario, investigated Binance as well.
While still in its infancy, Thailand’s crypto business is beginning to take shape as authorities seek to clarify the asset class’s regulatory framework. Following regulatory criticism, Thailand’s Revenue Department recently canceled a planned 15% tax on crypto capital gains.