Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailand’s second-largest bank, has announced plans to launch orbix Custodian, the country’s first licensed digital asset custody service. orbix Custodian has received a Digital Asset Custody license from the Ministry of Finance and will be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The license was granted on September 13 but was announced two weeks later. The service is expected to be operational by early 2025.

The move is the latest in a series of moves by KBank in the crypto space. Chairman Pipit Aneaknithi said the initiative will contribute to Thailand’s ambitions to become a digital economy hub and develop digital financial infrastructure.

orbix Custodian is managed by KBank’s digital-focused subsidiary Unita Capital. It will work with orbix Invest and orbix Technology. orbix Trade was previously known as Satang before it was acquired by Unita Capital in October 2023.

KBank is also active in the field of artificial intelligence. Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG), along with AI Singapore and Google Research, has joined Project SEALD to develop large language models (LLMs) for Southeast Asian languages.

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