Following a meeting of the Committee on the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes, Thailand has announced its intentions to fight money laundering, online crime and unlicensed crypto exchanges.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been given a crucial role in the crackdown, tasked with collecting information on unlicensed crypto exchanges.
Bans will be implemented and communicated to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
The official announcement translates as “The SEC would like to warn the public and investors to be careful of using services with unlicensed digital asset business operators because they will not be protected by law. There is also the risk of being deceived (scam) and being (associated with) money laundering.”
What Does This Mean for Crypto Investors?
With stricter regulations looming for unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges in Thailand, the regulator has provided a grace period for crypto service users to prepare. This is to ensure that crypto trading access for investors is not disrupted during the ongoing regulatory activities.
Thailand’s SEC has also requested users to withdraw their assets and holdings from affected cryptocurrency exchange platforms as it seeks to adopt regulation measures similar to those of nations like India and the Philippines.
Investors are also required to check the registration status of crypto exchanges before carrying out any trading activities.
The Bigger Picture On Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges
Several popular offshore crypto exchanges like Kraken, Coinbase, KuCoin, and OKX don’t have the required licensing to operate legally in Thailand.
The regulatory pressure exerted in Thailand mirrors that ongoing in Europe, which could result in a ban on decentralized protocols. To this effect, the European Commission has been tasked with preparing a report by the end of the year.
This report will evaluate the decentralized finance (DeFi) market and the feasibility of specific industry regulations.
Looking Ahead
Thailand aims to protect the interests of legitimate crypto investors by implementing stricter measures to reduce risk. In so doing, it has prioritized investor protection and regulatory compliance to make the crypto industry more conducive to innovation and sustainable growth.
