Bitget to buy GMO's licensed Thai crypto exchange after $388M hack

Bitget says it is the company behind BTGT Management, the buyer of GMO Internet's licensed Thai crypto exchange. GMO's board approved the sale on September 24. The price was not disclosed. The transfer is set for October 31.

The buyer's identity came from Bitget, not from the filing itself. GMO Internet's September 24 notice to investors named the buyer only as BTGT Management (Thailand) Ltd., a holding company registered two days before the board signed off. Bitget confirmed on October 20 that it stands behind that entity. It has not said how large its stake is.

BTGT Management was registered in Bangkok on September 22, 2026, with capital of 2 million baht, according to GMO's filing. Its listed director is Chen Siyu. Two holding companies own it: BTGT Investment Holdings Limited with 51 percent and BTGT Holdings Limited with 49 percent. The notice also lets a company that BTGT designates step in as the buyer at closing.

What Bitget is buying

That target is GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which launched the Z.com EX exchange in Bangkok in 2021 and holds a license from Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission. The business dates to July 2018 and carries registered capital of 735.4 million baht. All 7,349,446 shares change hands under the deal. GMO Internet held 49 percent directly and its Thai holding company held 50.94 percent. After the transfer, GMO keeps nothing.

On its own, the exchange is no prize. It lost money for three straight years. In the year to December 2025 it reported a net loss of about 87.6 million baht, roughly 400 million yen, on net sales of about 11 million baht. What Bitget gains here is the license. Not the business. The license.

Buying a licensed local company is a well-worn way into a regulated market. Kraken's parent Payward took the same route in Europe, agreeing to acquire a bank for an EU license. A Thai permit spares Bitget the slower work of applying from scratch.

Why GMO is getting out

GMO Internet flagged the exit in March. A notice dated March 18, 2026 said the board had decided to leave Thailand's digital asset business, either by selling the subsidiary or winding it down. GMO had bought the Thai units only a year earlier, in March 2025, as part of a group reshuffle, then changed course. It cited the state of Thailand's digital asset market.

The company expects little financial fallout. It told investors the sale would have a minimal effect on its results for the year ending December 31, 2026. Thailand, meanwhile, has kept clarifying its own crypto rules, and this month cleared bitcoin and ether ETFs for its stock exchange.

A deal shadowed by a hack

Bitget comes to the deal weeks after a serious breach. In late September the exchange said attackers exploited a flaw in a third-party security tool and pushed through fraudulent withdrawal orders. Bitget estimated that around $388 million moved to addresses the attackers controlled. Customer balances were not touched, the company said, and its Protection Fund is covering the loss.

Withdrawals were restored in phases by early October. Gracy Chen, Bitget's chief executive, framed the Thai purchase as a bet on local knowledge. "Building a presence in a market requires local expertise," she said in the announcement. Bitget has not set a date for a Thai launch, and its own terms still list Thailand as a restricted market.

What to watch

Approval is the hinge. The transfer needs sign-off under the Thai regulator's rules on major shareholders, and GMO's filing says BTGT's owners will comply with them. October 31 is a target, not a settled date. Two things stay hidden: what Bitget paid, and how much of BTGT it actually owns. Both sides kept the price private, with GMO saying only that it reflects market pricing.