Bitcoin price slump erodes fortunes of would-be miners in Thailand
For Thailand’s market authorities, the rout in Bitcoin has been one of the few tools to cool down the once-unstoppable Jasmine Technology Solution Pcl.
The telecom-turned-crypto company has lost more than a third of its value in the past month, cutting its market capitalization to 260 billion baht ($7.6 billion). That tumble also pared the wealth of its seven biggest individual shareholders, who had enjoyed earlier gains after the firm unveiled a plan in July to expand into Bitcoin mining.
“The only frenzy has been from the company’s claim to be the pioneer of the Bitcoin-mining business in the country and region,” said Jitra Amornthum, an analyst at Finansia Syrus Securities Pcl. “That appeal has evaporated with the slide in Bitcoin.”
The Securities & Exchange Commission in February urged Jasmine Technology’s shareholders to make a “careful study and decision” of an independent financial adviser’s call to reject the company’s mining plan. The investment was ultimately approved in spite of the recommendation.
Recent downturns in crypto exchanges and currencies including Bitcoin highlight the vulnerability of new fortunes, such as those of Jasmine Technology’s front-runners. The company, based just outside Bangkok, rode the digital-asset wave to become the 10th most-valuable company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, prompting the bourse to halt trading in the stock for a day in April, citing a rally “without fundamentals.”
The stock has also been hit by concerns about the regulatory environment, with Thailand banning the use of crypto for payments in March.
The biggest paper loss has been to the fortune of Pete Bodharamik, who controls the parent company, broadband-network provider Jasmine International Pcl, founded by his
Read more on tech.hindustantimes.com
