Bitget’s Thai Expansion Plan Hangs in the Balance as Regulators Move to Cut Off Its Platform

Bitget is trying to enter Thailand through the front door while the country’s securities regulator is closing the back one. The Securities and Exchange Commission has referred the exchange’s operator to police and wants its website and app blocked from Dec. 5, which raises doubts about a planned purchase of a licensed local exchange.

Why Thai Regulators Went After Bitget

The SEC says BG Limited ran trading services for Thai residents between 2022 and 2025 with no license. Evidence it cited includes fee collection, a Thai language website quoting prices in baht, and linked social media accounts. Bitget’s own terms of use, updated in October, already list Thailand as a prohibited country. Users have been told to arrange their holdings before the block takes effect.

Part of a Wider Crackdown

Thai authorities have taken comparable steps against other offshore platforms, among them Bybit and OKX, as they press on with enforcement against unlicensed crypto trading.

The GMO-Z Acquisition Question

Bitget is seeking approval to buy GMO-Z, a licensed exchange and brokerage, through BTGT Management (Thailand), a company tied to Bitget. Such a deal would give it a legal route into the market. Seller GMO Internet pushed the share transfer from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30, pointing to regulatory approval work. That leaves only five days between the new closing date and the planned blockade. The SEC has not said whether its complaint will change the outcome of the purchase.