The Next Chapter of KBTG: Exploring the World of DeFi With KX & Coral

Back in September 2021, I had a chance to talk with Paul Thanaarmates Arriyavat, KX’s Head of Venture about this great mission that KBank and KBTG leaders have bestowed upon him, where the company’s role was decided: This autonomous venture builder is going to create new businesses in the world of DeFi and beyond by placing customer’s pain points at the core, then driving the solution forward with advance technology.

That statement was made official to the public on 18 October 2021 at “The Next Chapter of KBTG… KX & Coral” press conference. Many of you might be curious… KX, I’ve seen that word before. But what on earth and the deep blue sea is Coral? If you missed the livestream and would like to catch up really quick, this article is for you.

Before the Next Chapter

To proceed to the next chapter, one must first relive the journey KBTG has ventured so far. The best person to walk us through this is none other than Krating, Ruangroj Poonpol, group chairman of KBTG. Since spinning off from KBank in 2016, KBTG has proven time and time again that we are the frontrunner in Thailand’s tech industry. Other than supporting IT architecture and overseeing the digital functionality for KBank, KBTG is responsible for countless digital channels for KBank like developing K PLUS — Thailand’s #1 mobile banking application, LINE BK — social banking on LINE, or KhunThong — chatbot treasurer that was born from the den of KBTG. We build financial technology for partners such as digital lending system for Dolfin, Shopee, Lazada, and digital payment system in the forms of GrabPay Wallet and PTT Blue CONNECT. When it comes to co-innovation, we’re the go-to partner for industry leaders in various ecosystems such as DTAC, Samsung, Boonterm and Thonburi Healthcare Group.

KBTG’s commitment as a tech organization is not just to keep up with the world, it’s to be one step ahead of its competitors. In terms of deep tech, we have a department dedicated to AI, quantum computing and blockchain research. Of course, In this era, we couldn’t miss out on digital assets and the metaverse. Taking a lead in this area is our newest member, KASIKORN X (KX), who operates as an autonomous venture builder developing new s-curve businesses for KBank and KBTG. First registered in 2018, KX has been fully operational since 2020. Their business model is to incubate, scale and spin off a new business into a standalone company once it’s strong enough. A clear example of this is Kubix, an ICO portal and KX’s first ever spin-off.

Coral: NFT Platform With Limitless Opportunities

Diving into KX, it was time for Paul to take the stage. He started with a simple yet thought-provoking remark: only 1% of the population can access the power of decentralized finance (DeFi). Seeing so many opportunities this world could give, KX wants to make DeFi accessible to the other 99%. Considering how notorious are DeFi and digital assets, KX wants to be someone that the majority can place their trust in, hence “building trust in the trustless world.” Their mission is to make financial and non-financial services safe and simple for the mass. After spinning off Kubix, now Kx is ready to reveal their second business: Coral.

Coral is a super simple NFT marketplace that offers limitless opportunities for creators in Asia and collectors worldwide.

• Simple: even if you’re a collector noob who is unfamiliar with NFT, you can successfully make your first purchase within 10 clicks. Meanwhile, artists can sell their digital art by simply uploading the file, setting the price and authorizing Coral to mint an NFT.
• Safe: Coral will validate every artist and brand featured on the platform to ensure that the NFT bought by collectors belongs to the original creator, not some impersonator selling someone else’s work.

Everything is made super simple with Coral. For artists who are afraid to publish their arts because of the high upfront cost, Coral is made for them. With lazy minting, the platform will mint NFTs only when the purchase has been concluded. Additionally, to make the payment process as easy as other typical online shopping experiences, Coral collectors can pay with credit card, debit cards and mobile banking. They won’t have to convert their fiat money into cryptocurrency to buy NFTs per Ethereum standards.

Collaboration & Engagement

To bring artists and fans closer while promoting NFT artwork to a wider audience, KX has revealed Siam Piwat as Coral’s first partner. As discussed by Mr. Axel Winter, SPW’s Chief Digital Officer, both SPW and KX believe that NFT technology is going to open a new door for the creator community. Thus, they spent 6 months brainstorming ways to bridge the offline and online experiences, resulting in “NFT walls” at ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon, where fans and general audience will be able to admire NFT art up close.

Aside from announcing partnership, Coral has unveiled nine well-known Thai artists that have already agreed to feature their artwork on the platform, namely, Lactobacillus, Tikkywow, Songsin Tiewsomboon, Ekachai Milintapas, Puntita Meeboonsabai, Benzilla, Pomme Chan, IllustraTU, and Jiggy Bug. At the press conference, eight of the artists (except for Jiggy Bug who has prior engagement) came to discuss their journey as an artist and the future of NFT. The panel was split into two parts, Thai and English language, to further Coral’s determination to bring artists in Thailand and Asia to the global stage.

Lastly, Coral has a message for artists, brands and business partners in Thailand. Regardless what stage of an artist you are (professional, in the making, total beginner), if you would like to join Coral in creating the ecosystem together, discover more details and apply at https://coralworld.co. As for collectors who couldn’t wait to jump in, please hold on a little bit longer. Coral will be open for business in December 2021.

Watch the press conference rerun in full at KBTG Facebook page.