A Thai-based technology company has registered a spike in its stock after diversifying its services to venture into cryptocurrency mining.
The Jasmine Technology Solution stock has grown 6,700% on a year-to-date basis after embarking on crypto mining in July with 335 devices, Bloomberg reports.
Interestingly, the company’s stock returns rank top among leading global technology entities, although the firm has a market capitalization of $2 billion.
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The spike can be attributed to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies that stood out in 2021. The sector’s growth is evident by November’s $6.58 billion turnover by the seven locally-listed crypto exchanges.
“The strong response from investors has exceeded our expectations. There’s bullish optimism toward our new direction even though this is just the beginning,” said Chairman Soraj Asavaprapha.
Interestingly, Jasmine Technology has managed to generate eight BTC from the mining activity, and Soraj project’s that the venture will account for 80% of revenues in 2022.
Elsewhere, the firm’s net income between January and September jumped 436% on a year-over-year basis from sales of the traditional telecommunications-related businesses.
The company now plans to scale operations by investing 3.3 billion baht ($98 million) in purchasing about 7,000 new devices.
Jasmine Technology now joins other local firms diversifying into the growing cryptocurrency sector that has emerged as one of the best-performing asset classes of 2021.
For instance, Consumer-appliance manufacturer AJ Advanced Technology has also ventured into Bitcoin mining, while Siam Commercial Bank Pcl and Kasikornbank Pcl have shown interest in crypto-related startups.
The regulatory hurdle
However, as more companies make forays into the cryptocurrency space, regulators are also moving quickly to enact new legislation. Currently, The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is working with other agencies to issue more detailed rules for the sector.
Overall, interest in digital assets is mainly driven by young investors capitalizing on the existing local exchanges.
Notably, as reported by Finbold, BoT had earlier called on banks operating in the country against getting involved in trading cryptocurrencies citing risks related to volatility.
