Thailand adopted a crypto Travel Rule requiring digital asset operators to verify control of self-custodial wallets and retain transaction data for five years. Thailand is tightening oversight of crypto transfers, including transactions involving self-custodial wallets, as it moves to align with global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new Travel Rule regulations requiring digital asset operators to collect information about parties involved in crypto transfers, the regulator announced Wednesday. The rules will take effect on Feb. 27, 2027, giving crypto businesses nearly six months to develop systems for transmitting, receiving and monitoring transaction information. Read more
Thailand’s SEC seeks comments on rules requiring retail-accessible overseas crypto derivatives to trade on qualifying, centrally cleared exchanges. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed allowing intermediaries to facilitate retail access to certain digital asset derivatives traded overseas. Under the proposal, eligible products would need to resemble crypto derivatives traded in Thailand, including their underlying assets, maturity, leverage and settlement methods. The products must also trade on an exchange that uses a central counterparty for clearing and is overseen by a regulator belonging to specified international regulatory or exchange groups. Read more
Thailand’s SEC opened consultations on local Bitcoin and Ether ETF rules and qualification standards for foreign digital asset custodians. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has advanced its framework for locally listed spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from proposed principles to draft regulations while revising its approach to foreign digital asset custodians. The regulator said Monday it is seeking feedback on two consultation papers. One contains draft regulations for Thai crypto ETFs, while the other proposes principles governing the qualifications of foreign digital asset custodians engaged by mutual and private funds investing in digital assets. During the initial stage, asset managers could establish passive ETFs tracking Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), the only two eligible crypto assets. Read more
The Bitcoin Red Team has been forced to rely on open source Chinese AI, after OpenAI restricted access. Thailand sets crypto tax to 0% in bid to become crypto hub. THAILAND For the next few years crypto investors in Thailand won’t have to pay any capital gains taxes on sales made via platforms licensed by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission. The exemption is for five years and covers the period of January 1 2025, through to December 31 2029. The scheme aims to boost Thailand’s attractiveness as a regional crypto hub, and it’s already home to a growing community of crypto digital nomads However trades on unlicensed or overseas exchanges will still face standard personal tax rates as high as 38%. The exemption aligns the tax treatment of crypto with capital gains from traditional securities in the country. Thailand previously waved 7% value added tax on crypto gains in early 2024. Read more
Thailand’s SEC filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub and two former directors over alleged false disclosures linked to a 2021 cyberattack involving $50 million in assets. Thailand’s crypto industry is facing fresh regulatory scrutiny after authorities accused Bitkub, one of the country’s largest digital asset exchanges, of providing false information to regulators. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a criminal complaint against Bitkub Online and two former directors over alleged false reporting connected to a 2021 cyberattack, the regulator announced on Thursday. The complaint names former Bitkub directors Sakolkorn Sakavee and Thaweesap Rawan, who the SEC said were responsible for submitting company reports during the period under investigation. Read more
Thailand has been plagued by Chinese-affiliated scam centers, with illicit gains flowing through a “gray money” economy. Thailand’s central bank is stepping up stablecoin surveillance as part of a wider effort to crack down on money laundering, illicit finance and “gray money” in the country. The Bank of Thailand is working with the Kingdom’s Securities and Exchange Commission to audit high-volume stablecoin transactions, with a focus on USDt (USDT), cash transactions and currency exchanges, to identify and stop illicit financial flows. “The measures we are implementing are not short-term fixes; they require the continuous deployment of multiple parallel strategies,” Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said, according to local media outlet The Nation on Saturday. Read more
Thailand’s SEC is seeking feedback on rule changes that would let digital asset firms offer derivatives within existing entities, lowering barriers to market entry. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comment on proposed rule changes that would allow licensed digital asset businesses to apply directly for derivatives licenses, removing the requirement to establish separate entities. The proposed revisions would build on earlier changes recognizing digital assets as eligible underlying assets for futures contracts, expanding the scope of Thailand’s derivatives market while introducing additional requirements to manage conflicts of interest and strengthen oversight. The proposal could lower barriers for crypto companies to enter the derivatives market by allowing them to apply for licenses within existing entities, rather than establishing separate companies, while bringing those activities under tighter regulatory oversight. Read more
Thailand’s SEC proposes tightening funding rules for cryptocurrency companies to include anyone backing major shareholders, directly or indirectly. Thailand’s securities regulator is seeking to curb money laundering and technology-related crimes by tightening funding rules for cryptocurrency companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (Thai SEC) on Monday proposed expanding approval requirements for crypto businesses to include financiers behind major shareholders. Under the proposal, any person providing backing or financial support to major shareholders would itself be treated as a shareholder requiring regulatory approval from the regulator. Read more
Thai crypto operators reportedly froze 10,000 suspected “mule accounts” as new AML checks and transfer delays took effect in a wider anti-fraud push. Thai cryptocurrency platform operators have reportedly frozen more than 10,000 accounts suspected of being used to launder illicit funds, as the country steps up efforts to crack down on so-called mule accounts. The freezes followed the rollout of stricter screening measures aimed at slowing suspicious crypto transfers and requiring additional Know Your Customer checks before higher-risk transactions are completed, according to local reporting from the Bangkok Post on Tuesday. The tighter process helped operators identify and freeze more than 10,000 suspected mule accounts, Att Thongyai Asavanund, chief executive of KuCoin Thailand and chairman of the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO), told the Bangkok Post. Read more
Binance Thailand’s CEO says it is a “watershed moment” for digital assets in the country, as they are no longer being treated as mere speculative instruments. Thailand’s government on Tuesday approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal allowing digital assets to be used as underlying assets in the country’s derivatives and capital markets. The move aims to modernize Thailand’s derivatives markets in line with international standards, strengthen regulatory oversight and investor protection, and position itself as a regional hub for institutional crypto trading, the Bangkok Post reported. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will amend the Derivatives Act to enable these new asset classes, which include Bitcoin (BTC) and carbon credits. Read more
Sam Altman-backed digital ID project World halts Thai operations after authorities cite violations of the WLD token exchange and the Personal Data Protection Act. Authorities in Thailand have officially requested World, a Sam Altman-backed digital identity project, to suspend operations and delete all user identification data. Thailand’s Economic and Social Development Board, the country’s strategic planning agency, has ordered World to delete iris scans of 1.2 million local users, according to a statement by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) on Monday. The order detailed that World’s iris scanning in exchange for its Worldcoin (WLD) token violated Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act, which governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal data. Read more
XRP has the highest returns of any asset class in Thailand so far this year, Shanghai court sells seized Filecoin, and more: Asia Express. XRP delivered the strongest returns among all major asset classes in Thailand, soaring 390% year-on-year in August, according to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commissions latest digital asset market report. The XRP token has now topped the SECs performance rankings for nine consecutive months, outpacing gold, equities and other benchmarks listed in the regulators database. Solana was the last asset other than XRP to top Thailands chart. Bitcoin and Ethereum rounded out the top three performers in August. Thailands cryptocurrency market continues to expand. Monthly trading volume rose 2.05% to 299.4 billion baht (about US$8.2 billion), while the number of active accounts increased 8.44% to 230,000. Retail investors made up the largest share of trading at 42%, followed by institutional investors (21%), juristic persons (18%) and foreign investors (16%). Read more
XRP has the highest returns of any asset class in Thailand so far this year, Shanghai court sells seized Filecoin, and more: Asia Express. XRP delivered the strongest returns among all major asset classes in Thailand, soaring 390% year-on-year in August, according to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commissions latest digital asset market report. The XRP token has now topped the SECs performance rankings for nine consecutive months, outpacing gold, equities and other benchmarks listed in the regulators database. Solana was the last asset other than XRP to top Thailands chart. Bitcoin and Ethereum rounded out the top three performers in August. Thailands cryptocurrency market continues to expand. Monthly trading volume rose 2.05% to 299.4 billion baht (about US$8.2 billion), while the number of active accounts increased 8.44% to 230,000. Retail investors made up the largest share of trading at 42%, followed by institutional investors (21%), juristic persons (18%) and foreign investors (16%). Read more
XRP has the highest returns of any asset class in Thailand so far this year, Shanghai court sells seized Filecoin, and more: Asia Express. XRP delivered the strongest returns among all major asset classes in Thailand, soaring 390% year-on-year in August, according to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commissions latest digital asset market report. The XRP token has now topped the SECs performance rankings for nine consecutive months, outpacing gold, equities and other benchmarks listed in the regulators database. Solana was the last asset other than XRP to top Thailands chart. Bitcoin and Ethereum rounded out the top three performers in August. Thailands cryptocurrency market continues to expand. Monthly trading volume rose 2.05% to 299.4 billion baht (about US$8.2 billion), while the number of active accounts increased 8.44% to 230,000. Retail investors made up the largest share of trading at 42%, followed by institutional investors (21%), juristic persons (18%) and foreign investors (16%). Read more
XRP has the highest returns of any asset class in Thailand so far this year, Shanghai court sells seized Filecoin, and more: Asia Express. XRP delivered the strongest returns among all major asset classes in Thailand, soaring 390% year-on-year in August, according to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commissions latest digital asset market report. The XRP token has now topped the SECs performance rankings for nine consecutive months, outpacing gold, equities and other benchmarks listed in the regulators database. Solana was the last asset other than XRP to top Thailands chart. Bitcoin and Ethereum rounded out the top three performers in August. Thailands cryptocurrency market continues to expand. Monthly trading volume rose 2.05% to 299.4 billion baht (about US$8.2 billion), while the number of active accounts increased 8.44% to 230,000. Retail investors made up the largest share of trading at 42%, followed by institutional investors (21%), juristic persons (18%) and foreign investors (16%). Read more
XRP has the highest returns of any asset class in Thailand so far this year, Shanghai court sells seized Filecoin, and more: Asia Express. XRP delivered the strongest returns among all major asset classes in Thailand, soaring 390% year-on-year in August, according to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commissions latest digital asset market report. The XRP token has now topped the SECs performance rankings for nine consecutive months, outpacing gold, equities and other benchmarks listed in the regulators database. Solana was the last asset other than XRP to top Thailands chart. Bitcoin and Ethereum rounded out the top three performers in August. Thailands cryptocurrency market continues to expand. Monthly trading volume rose 2.05% to 299.4 billion baht (about US$8.2 billion), while the number of active accounts increased 8.44% to 230,000. Retail investors made up the largest share of trading at 42%, followed by institutional investors (21%), juristic persons (18%) and foreign investors (16%). Read more