BIA6 - Building Thailand's Biggest Exchange

Our Guest this week is Topp Jirayut Srupsrisopa Co-founder & Group CEO at Bitkub Capital Group Holdings out of Bangkok. Topp previously co-founded coins.ph and built out its Thailand entity coins.th before its acquisition by Go-Jeck. In founding Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, Topp raised the largest seed round in the history of start-up funding in Thailand and launched as a part of its portfolio the cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub, now Thailand’s largest by market share. We talk about what it took to go from sub-par high school student to one of the most successful founders in Thailand, the trials along the way in building multiple successful Bitcoin companies in Southeast Asia in an era of skepticism from regulators, how the role of a CEO evolves as a company grows, and the current state and future of Bitcoin in Thailand.

Topp on Twitter @toppjirayut
Bitkub (Bitkub.com) on Twitter @BitkubOfficial

Topics and Timestamps: 

1:00 – Topp’s background in Thailand, New Zealand, and the UK
5:00 – Investment Banking in Shanghai and finding Bitcoin via Marc Andreessen’s blog (2013)
8:00 – Deciding to move San Francisco to be closer to the tech boom and spending the month in between in the Philippines, meeting PayPal exec Dan Schatt and thinking about working with (Philippines cofounders)
12:00 – Moving to the Philippines to cofound Coins.ph, opening the Thailand office (Coins.th) out of his bedroom in Bangkok
15:00 – Early struggles, being doubted, and the process of growing Coins.th
22:00 – Explaining the business to the authorities, working through having employees lose faith
24:00 - Blockchain not Bitcoin phase of Thailand (2015)
27:00 – Deciding to exit Coins.th, Bitcoin is legal in Thailand (2017)
32:00 – Deciding to found a Bitcoin company, the founding team, closing largest seed round in Thailand to date
34:00 – Early Bitcoin meetup scene in Thailand
36:00 – Bitkub Capital Group overview, initial strategy and growth plan
40:00 – Milestones in growth of the Bitkub exchange over its first two years, regulatory milestones
47:00 – Current focus and how the role of a CEO evolves as a company grows
53:00 – Current state of Bitcoin in Thailand and what is important for its future growth    

Our Guest this week is Topp Jirayut Srupsrisopa Co-founder & Group CEO at Bitkub Capital Group Holdings out of Bangkok. Topp previously co-founded coins.ph and built out its Thailand entity coins.th before its acquisition by Go-Jeck. In founding Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, Topp raised the largest seed round in the history of start-up funding in Thailand and launched as a part of its portfolio the cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub, now Thailand’s largest by market share. We talk about what it took to go from sub-par high school student to one of the most successful founders in Thailand, the trials along the way in building multiple successful Bitcoin companies in Southeast Asia in an era of skepticism from regulators, how the role of a CEO evolves as a company grows, and the current state and future of Bitcoin in Thailand.

Topp on Twitter @toppjirayut Bitkub (Bitkub.com) on Twitter @BitkubOfficial

Topics and Timestamps: 

1:00 – Topp’s background in Thailand, New Zealand, and the UK 5:00 – Investment Banking in Shanghai and finding Bitcoin via Marc Andreessen’s blog (2013) 8:00 – Deciding to move San Francisco to be closer to the tech boom and spending the month in between in the Philippines, meeting PayPal exec Dan Schatt and thinking about working with (Philippines cofounders) 12:00 – Moving to the Philippines to cofound Coins.ph, opening the Thailand office (Coins.th) out of his bedroom in Bangkok 15:00 – Early struggles, being doubted, and the process of growing Coins.th 22:00 – Explaining the business to the authorities, working through having employees lose faith 24:00 - Blockchain not Bitcoin phase of Thailand (2015) 27:00 – Deciding to exit Coins.th, Bitcoin is legal in Thailand (2017) 32:00 – Deciding to found a Bitcoin company, the founding team, closing largest seed round in Thailand to date 34:00 – Early Bitcoin meetup scene in Thailand 36:00 – Bitkub Capital Group overview, initial strategy and growth plan 40:00 – Milestones in growth of the Bitkub exchange over its first two years, regulatory milestones 47:00 – Current focus and how the role of a CEO evolves as a company grows 53:00 – Current state of Bitcoin in Thailand and what is important for its future growth