Mrs. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, SEC Secretary-General, stated: “The expansion of permissible goods and variables under the Derivatives Act aims to support new forms of goods and variables—such as digital assets—allowing them to serve as underlying products and strengthening the position of digital assets as an investment asset class (crypto as an asset class). This development will help promote more inclusive market growth, facilitate diversification and more effective risk management, and expand investment opportunities for a broader range of investors.

In addition, determining carbon credits as goods—rather than variables—enables the introduction of physically delivered futures contracts, in addition to cash settled contracts, through the derivatives exchange regulated under the Derivatives Act. This approach is consistent with the principles outlined in the draft Climate Change Act B.E. …. and will help promote carbon credit trading that supports the nation’s carbon neutrality goals.”

Going forward, the SEC will develop regulatory requirements to support related business activities, including amendments to derivatives business licenses to allow digital asset business operators to offer derivative contracts referencing digital assets. The SEC will also review the licensing framework and supervisory requirements applicable to the derivatives exchange and derivatives clearing house to ensure their suitability for new types of underlying products.

Moreover, the SEC will coordinate with the Thailand Futures Exchange Public Company Limited (TFEX) to determine the detail of product’s contract specifications, particularly for derivatives product referencing digital asset, to ensure alignment with their risk characteristics and practical market usage.