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Welcome to another edition of Bangkok Block, your eyes and ears on all the latest happenings in happenings in the local crypto scene.
Bitkub Slashes Workforce by 5.5%, Taps Gaming Market
In light of current market conditions, crypto exchange Bitkub announced a round of layoffs and adjustments to its financial policies. 1.81% of Bitkub Online employees and 5.47% of Bitkub Group’s total workforce will be affected. According to the company’s official statement, the figures represent only a small portion of their entire workforce.
In addition to this, the company will implement a minor reduction of employee benefits, among other changes.
Bitkub cited economic struggles as the reason behind its new cost-saving measures. Bitkub Group's net profits tumbled from 2.1 billion baht in 2021 to 1.3 billion baht in 2023 as crypto prices collapsed and company expenses increased. In efforts to raise capital for supporting and expanding its digital services, Bitkub Online recently sold shares to Asphere Innovations, the gaming publisher behind hit games like Ragnarok Online.
Bitkub hopes to tap into Asphere’s user base of around 180 million across Southeast Asia by offering its blockchain services in partnership with Asphere’s gaming content. Their partnership marks Bitkub’s foray into the gaming scene with the goal of reviving the local crypto industry after a string of losses in the earlier half of the year.
Despite Thailand’s rank as one of the top crypto adopters globally, the status of the local cryptosphere remains uncertain. At present, the trend appears to be a gradual shift from pure DeFi and crypto investment to real-world applications of blockchain technology in different industries, and gaming is no exception.
LBank Bangkok Roadshow Champions Web3 Innovation
This month, after successful meetups at Austin and Seoul, global centralized exchange LBank took its Web3 roadshow to Bangkok.
Held in collaboration with the Offchain community and other partners, the event featured presentations from industry leaders exploring blockchain use cases in their respective market sectors, from tokenized precious metals to education and real estate. Speakers discussed hot issues and future projects in the crypto ecosystem with hopes of inspiring the next generation to innovate through Web3 technology.
Bitcoin-Only Conference Tackles Potential, Pitfalls of Bitcoin
Web3 live gatherings are going strong this year, with weekly crypto nights and international blockchain conferences lighting up the local scene. Yet almost none were exclusively devoted to Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin Thailand Conference 2023, held at True Digital Park, sought to remedy that. As Thailand’s first annual Bitcoin-only event, the meetup brought together Bitcoin enthusiasts from all over the country to celebrate the growth of the Thai Bitcoin community over the years.
The discussion revolved around Bitcoin regulation in Southeast Asia, the potential of the Lighting network, and the path ahead for CBDC and Bitcoin. Speakers debated possible pitfalls of Bitcoin maximalism and addressed misconceptions about the effects of Bitcoin on the environment. Besides the talks, organizers also gave workshops on other Bitcoin topics for basic to advanced users.
The event was a blast, with a surprisingly high turnout rate despite the prevailing bear market. Participants of the two-day event generously shared their experiences as Bitcoin holders and took the chance to build collaborations for future business opportunities.
Upcoming
Friday, July 21: From crypto newbie to Web3 veteran, everyone is welcome to join the Chainlink Thailand Casual Catchup at Eathai, Thanon Phloen Chit. No need to talk business, just hang out and discuss decentralized identity and blockchain news with fellow builders.
Saturday, July 22: ContributionDAO’s Axelathon 2023 is all about blockchain applications in any of these categories: Infrastructure, DeFI, NFTs & the Metaverse, DAOs, and Social Impact. They’re kicking it off with a workshop at AWS, Singha Complex Floor 16, so if you’re a developer or creator interested to learn more about the blockchain, don’t miss it!
July 25: A workshop will be held at Yellow Coworking Space about using AI generation tool Midjourney to create NFTs. Come over to learn cool new AI prompts and get a free walkthrough of the steps of creating, minting, and listing NFT— made simple with AI.
If you're around, please drop me a line! And reach out if you're in Thailand and have an interesting story or project you'd like to talk about.
