Thailand SEC Bites Bitkub 🦈 "$50M Hack, But Who Counted the Bodies?

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint Thursday against Bitkub Online and two former directors, accusing the exchange of submitting false disclosures following a 2021 cyberattack that drained roughly 1.7 billion baht ($50 million) worth of digital assets. The complaint names former Bitkub directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, whom the SEC said were responsible for filing company reports during the period under investigation.

According to the regulator, a hack in May 2021 resulted in the theft of 16 types of digital assets from Bitkub. The SEC alleged that the exchange replaced the stolen assets by Oct. 31, 2021, but failed to accurately reflect the impact of the incident in its daily net liquid capital reports submitted between May 10 and Oct. 30, 2021. The regulator said the omitted figures gave the impression that customer assets remained unchanged and that the exchange had not suffered losses from the attack. The SEC accused Bitkub and the former directors of violating multiple provisions of Thailand's digital asset regulations.

Bitkub disputed the allegations in a post on X, saying the case stems from disclosure decisions made after the May 2021 cyberattack rather than fraudulent conduct. The exchange said it delayed disclosing the wallet compromise to prevent a bank run while it addressed the loss of the stolen funds, and that its co-founders later purchased equivalent digital assets to cover the stolen funds, leaving neither the company nor its customers with financial losses. The company added that it has since strengthened its governance, compliance and security systems.

Founded in 2018, Bitkub ranks first among Thai crypto exchanges by trust score on CoinGecko, with roughly $712 million in daily trading volume at the time of publication. In December 2025, Bitkub confirmed it was considering an initial public offering, including a potential listing in Hong Kong. The latest SEC case will now proceed through investigation, possible prosecution and court proceedings.