Thai SEC to tighten up rules for crypto, focus on investor protection

Thailand’s chief regulator highlights the importance of tighter control over the cryptocurrency-related advertisements.

Thailand joins the growing list of countries that are seeking to revise their crypto regulation in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. And, as most of these countries do, it intends to tighten the guidelines for the industry and focus on investor protection. 

According to the report from the Bangkok Post, published on Dec. 13, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing more stringent regulations on digital assets “to mirror the global market.” To justify such a decision, the SEC representatives reportedly nodded on the failures of FTX, Three Arrows Capital, the TerraUSD, Celsius Network and the local exchange, Zipmex.

The regulators also raised their concern with the recent trends in crypto advertising, notably the use of “finfluencers” to deliver the message, which could have misled the audience into investment risks. They deemed the digital asset industry to be “vulnerable” and in need of oversight.

The SEC highlighted investor protection, control over crypto advertising, prevention of conflicts of interest and cybersecurity as major areas to focus its efforts on. It has set up a working committee, combined with both officials and private stakeholders, to assess and prepare the relevant amendments to existing regulations.

Related: Crypto exchange Bitkub targeted by Thai SEC with wash trading claims

Interestingly, it’s not the first time the Thai SEC acts on crypto advertising standards. It has already obliged the market players to have clear investment warnings to consumers back in September.

The same month the SEC opened a public hearing on its initiative to prohibit crypto platforms from providing or supporting digital asset depository services. The possible ban of any staking and lending services is supposed to protect traders and the general public.

In Thailand, the wave of crypto businesses’ bankruptcies stroke one of the largest local platforms, Zipmex. In July, the company suspended withdrawals, citing a “combination of circumstances beyond [its] control.” The SEC accused Zipmex and its co-founder Akalarp Yimwilai of non-compliance with local laws and referred the matter to the police.