Bitkub Exchange Becomes Thailand's First Digital Asset Exchange to Achieve SOC 2 Type II

About Bitkub Online Co., Ltd.

Bitkub Online Co., Ltd. is Thailand's leading digital asset exchange, commanding an 80% share of the domestic market and operating under the regulatory oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within the Ministry of Finance. The platform serves more than 5 million registered users with access to over 300 digital assets.

Bitkub's mission is to deliver a best-in-class, secure, and accessible investment experience built for the digital era — a mandate that places security and privacy at the center of every decision the company makes.

That commitment is not abstract. Bitkub maintains strict compliance with Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), backed by robust data encryption, storage of the majority of digital assets in offline cold wallets, Passkey authentication, and tightly enforced role-based access controls across internal systems. Together, these measures safeguard user assets and personal information against unauthorized access — the foundation of Bitkub's standing as Thailand's most trusted digital asset platform.

The Challenge: Sustaining Proof Over Time, Without a Local Precedent

For a digital asset exchange, security is not a feature. It is the entire value proposition. Bitkub holds custody of both the financial assets and the personal information of millions of Thai investors, in a sector where a single failure can be existential.

Bitkub had already built formidable internal defenses. But internal measures, however rigorous, are self-attested — and as the company expanded toward institutional partners and international counterparties, it needed something its own assurances could not provide: independent, continuous proof.

That proof came at a cost few organizations anticipate. A SOC 2 Type II report is not a snapshot. It requires demonstrating that security protocols and internal governance operate effectively across an extended observation period, supported by consistent practical evidence at every step.

"The primary challenge for Bitkub Online in achieving SOC 2 Type II compliance was the intensity of the continuous evaluation process," the team explained. Sustaining that intensity inside a high-volume exchange — where systems change constantly and transaction throughput never pauses — meant rethinking how the organization operated day to day.

Compounding the difficulty, there was no one to learn from. As the first digital asset exchange in Thailand to pursue this standard, Bitkub had no domestic playbook, no peer precedent, and no local benchmark for what a compliant exchange environment should look like. The company dedicated significant resources to refining operational processes specifically for its own context, then coordinated evidence collection across departments that had never before been asked to document their work to an auditor's standard.

The Solution: A Phased SOC 2 Journey with Johanson Group

Bitkub pursued a SOC 2 report covering the full scope of the AICPA's Trust Services Criteria — Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. Many organizations scope to Security alone. Bitkub scoped to all five.

The engagement was structured in sequential phases. Bitkub first achieved SOC 2 Type I, validating the suitability and design of its security controls at a point in time. With that foundation established, the company progressed to SOC 2 Type II, which introduced a continuous observation period measuring how those controls performed in live operation.

"The SOC 2 audit process was comprehensive and robust, structured into clear, sequential phases," the Bitkub team said. Their internal teams worked closely with the auditors throughout to test systems, gather empirical evidence, and evaluate operating effectiveness across all levels of the organization.

Johanson Group's role spanned both phases. "Johanson Group was instrumental to our compliance success," Bitkub shared. Drawing on experience with digital asset businesses and international auditing standards, the Johanson Group team provided clear, practical guidance at every stage — "from establishing structural controls for SOC 2 Type I to designing an efficient evidence-gathering framework for SOC 2 Type II."

That evidence framework directly addressed Bitkub's central challenge. A Type II observation period generates continuous documentation demands, and an inefficient approach can consume months of internal engineering capacity. Bitkub described Johanson Group's approach as "proactive, transparent, and collaborative," crediting it with enabling their team "to navigate the audit process smoothly and efficiently, ensuring full alignment with the highest global compliance standards."

The result: Bitkub demonstrated operational effectiveness and maintained flawless compliance with the Trust Services Criteria throughout the audit.

The Audit Impact: Credibility, Velocity, and Operational Discipline

Achieving SOC 2 Type II has produced results across Bitkub's business, from the boardroom to daily engineering practice.

• Reinforced Credibility at Scale: The report provides tangible reassurance to Bitkub's 5 million+ users, financial institutions, and partners that its systems meet global security standards. For a platform holding 80% of Thailand's digital asset market, that external validation carries weight no internal claim can match.
• Faster International Partnerships: SOC 2 Type II has streamlined Bitkub's cybersecurity risk assessment processes, allowing the company to "establish strategic international partnerships more swiftly and efficiently." Prospective partners no longer need to run duplicative security reviews — the report answers the questions before they are asked.
• Standardized Controls Across Core Systems: Bitkub strengthened role-based access control, system change management, and evidence logging. What had previously varied by team is now consistent, documented, and enforced across the organization.
• Tighter Cross-Functional Collaboration: Standardized processes have improved coordination between Bitkub's Security, IT Operations, and Compliance functions. Shared definitions and shared documentation replaced parallel effort.
• Stronger Proactive Risk Management: "The audit has significantly bolstered our proactive risk management framework, incident response capabilities, and operational resilience," the team reported. The discipline required to survive a Type II observation period became the discipline that now runs the business.

Build Verifiable Trust with Johanson Group

Bitkub Exchange's story demonstrates what a SOC 2 Type II report can do for an organization whose entire business rests on customer trust: it converts internal confidence into external, independently verified proof — and turns the demands of compliance into lasting operational strength.

If your organization is preparing for a SOC 2 audit, entering markets that require third-party assurance, or looking to replace repetitive security questionnaires with a single credible report, Johanson Group can help.

To learn more about SOC 2 compliance and how Johanson Group supports organizations through every phase of the process, connect with us today!