Bitget Agrees to Buy Licensed Thai Exchange Z.com EX From GMO Internet
Bitget agrees to buy a Thai-licensed exchange
Bitget has agreed to buy GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), a licensed digital asset exchange and brokerage based in Bangkok, from Tokyo-listed GMO Internet. Bitget announced the agreement in a press release.
The purchase would give Bitget an entity licensed by Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bitget currently runs an offshore platform, meaning one based outside the country where its users live. Thailand restricts access to exchanges that do not hold a local license.
The deal still needs regulatory approval in Thailand, which requires approval when a licensed operator's major shareholder changes.
Deal terms and the price GMO kept quiet
- GMO Internet disclosed the deal to the Tokyo Stock Exchange about four weeks before Bitget announced it. Its Sept. 24 filing said the board had approved transferring all 7.35 million shares in the Thai unit.
- Of those shares, 49% were held directly by GMO Internet and 50.9% by GMO-Z.com Holdings (Thailand). The buyer is BTGT Management (Thailand) Ltd., a company incorporated two days before the board vote.
- BTGT Management is owned 51% by BTGT Investment Holdings Limited and 49% by BTGT Holdings Limited.
- GMO said the price is undisclosed at the buyer's request and that it expects the transfer to take effect Oct. 31. The filing does not mention Bitget.
- Bitget said it is acquiring the Thai company through its interest in BTGT Management, without giving the size of that interest.
Why GMO decided to leave Thailand
GMO's board voted on March 18 to exit the Thai digital asset business, citing the market environment there. It set out two options: sell the shares, or dissolve and liquidate the company.
GMO Internet had taken over the unit from its parent in March 2025 and reviewed its portfolio from that April. In the year to December 2025, the business recorded 11.0 million baht in net sales, about $330,000, and a loss of 87.6 million baht, about $2.6 million. Total assets were 451 million baht, roughly $13.4 million, against registered capital of 605 million baht.
GMO has lent the unit about 1 billion yen, some $6.3 million. It said a bad-debt loss of up to that amount may appear in its unconsolidated results, depending on how the deal is structured.
What Bitget would gain
The Thai company runs Z.com EX, which launched in February 2021 after what GMO described at the time as authorization from the Thai SEC and the Ministry of Finance to operate a cryptoassets exchange. The platform is still running; its support site posted a scheduled maintenance notice for Oct. 21.
Bitget's own regulatory licensing page lists licenses and registrations in Australia, the UK, Switzerland, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Mauritius and Georgia. None are in Southeast Asia. The company says it is applying in more jurisdictions without naming them.
Thailand's SEC named five unlicensed platforms in June 2025 — Bybit, 1000x, CoinEx, OKX and XT.COM — and had the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society block public access to them under a technological-crimes decree, while filing criminal complaints with the Royal Thai Police.
What the companies said
"Building a presence in a market requires local expertise, an understanding of the regulatory environment and a long-term commitment to the market," Bitget Chief Executive Gracy Chen said in the release.
GMO said the buyer's major shareholders are in the digital asset business and will comply with the approval process. Bitget said completion is subject to regulatory approval, and that it intends to bring its trading platform to Thai users once the change of control clears.
A hack shortly before the deal
The incoming owner comes to the Thai review a month after a breach of its own. Bitget said on Sept. 25 that about $387.5 million had moved from its hot wallets to addresses controlled by an attacker. A hot wallet is a crypto wallet connected to the internet. Chainalysis later attributed the theft to North Korea.
On Oct. 17, the exchange said it would end services for an unspecified group of users, with its terms of use listing Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan among prohibited jurisdictions.
Bitget's token and the wider market
BGB, the exchange's token, was down 3.7% over the past week and 7.3% over 30 days, according to CoinGecko data at 7:20 p.m. UTC on Oct. 19. Over the same period, Bitcoin fell 0.6% over the week and gained 0.6% over the month.
Bitget calls itself the world's largest "Universal Exchange," its term for a platform that lists crypto alongside tokenized stocks, commodities and foreign exchange, and says it serves more than 125 million users.
What is confirmed
- Bitget announced an agreement to buy GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand) from GMO Internet.
- GMO's Sept. 24 filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange set out the share transfer and an expected Oct. 31 effective date, with the price undisclosed at the buyer's request.
- GMO's board voted on March 18 to exit the Thai digital asset business.
- Completion depends on Thai regulatory approval of the change in major shareholder.
- Bitget disclosed a Sept. 25 breach of about $387.5 million from its hot wallets, which Chainalysis attributed to North Korea.
What is still unclear
The price of the deal has not been made public. Bitget did not say how large its interest in BTGT Management is, and GMO's filing does not name Bitget. Bitget has not identified which jurisdictions it is applying to for further licenses.
Why this matters
Thailand limits access to exchanges without a local license, so owning a licensed Thai operator gives Bitget a route into a market where its offshore platform could otherwise be blocked. For GMO, the sale follows a board decision to leave a business that lost about 87.6 million baht in the year to December 2025, and it may still record a bad-debt loss on its loan to the unit.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.
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