Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC has finalized the new rules to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as well as fund raising through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) in the Southeast Asian country.
The SEC has defined cryptocurrencies as "digital assets and digital tokens" under their regulatory jurisdiction. The law regulates both the trading and transacting of digital assets in the country.
Cryptocurrency exchanges, ICOs, dealers, brokers, and other crypto related firms enlisted with the Finance Ministry must receive approval from it to conduct crypto business. They must also register with the SEC for a new operating license after paying a licensing fee by August 14.
The Thai SEC expects ten firms to apply for operating licenses, with five being cryptocurrency exchanges and the other five being dealers and brokers in the crypto market.
Further, the market regulator will initially allow only seven cryptocurrencies to be traded as trading pairs. They are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple and Stellar.
In order to receive approval from the SEC, ICO issuers must state clearly the type of tokens being issued, as well as investment information. Projects running ICOs will also need to adhere to KYC and AML standards.
ICOs can only raise funds in the the seven cryptocurrencies permitted by the SEC. No ICO tokens can be traded against fiat currencies.
Any entity selling unauthorized digital tokens or engaging in unauthorized soliciting of crypto investment will be subjected to a fine of twice the value of the transaction or at least 500,000 baht. They would also be sentenced to a jail term of up to two years.
The SEC in Thailand has been working on its official guidelines for some time now. Two royal decrees were published on May 14 to address all crypto-related issues. It went through several public hearings to be finally approved during the meeting held on June 7.
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