The Security and Exchange Commission of Thailand plans to reform to the royal decree on digital asset businesses next year. These reforms arise amid concerns that now these laws have made the cryptocurrency business in the country not competitive.
These improvements in law will aim to facilitate the growth of digital businesses while protecting investors from unnecessary risk.
Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, secretary-general of the SEC, said that the regulators was looking for weaknesses in the royal decree that were resistant to the growth of digital asset business. She added:
“The regulator must be flexible to apply the rules and regulations in line with the market environment. For example, laws should not be outdated and should serve market needs, especially for new digital asset products, and be competitive with the global market. We need to explore any possible obstacles.”
The Royal Decree of the Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 was published in the Government Gazette on May 13, 2018, and came into force on 14 May, 2018. The Royal Decree regulates and controls activities and businesses relating to the digital assets like digital exchanges, brokerage firms, dealers, and token portal service providers, also known as initial coin offering (ICO) portals for the purposes of maintaining economic stability of Thailand and protecting investors and other persons involved.
This royal decree empowers the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission to control the sale and purchase of digital assets. It required digital exchanges, brokerage firms, and dealer to apply for the license form the finance ministry, while ICO portals must be approved by the SEC.
Once the SEC Office approves the registration statement, it requires crypto services provider to offer the digital tokens through the portal approved by the SEC only.
The royal decree also imposes hard penalties for those attempting to sell digital tokens without due approval from the SEC. This includes imprisonment of no more than 2 years or a fine of no more than 2 times of the total price of the digital tokens offered, the fine of which must not be less than 500,000 Baht, or both.
According to SEC data, five digital exchange, four digital asset brokers, one digital asset dealer, and three ICO portal companies have been awarded with the license since the royal decree came into force in May 2018.
The SEC is still drafting notifications and other relevant legislations for clarity and practically of the Royal Decree.
