The SEC Board, at its meeting in September 2026, resolved
to approve the principles for the supervision of the transfer of stablecoins
through DA operators, off-platform transactions conducted by DA operators, and the
operations of DA operators that engage market makers
(MMs), liquidity providers (LPs), or source exchanges in providing services. The framework aims to prevent money laundering, circumvention
of regulations governing international money transfers, and the misuse of
off-platform transaction channels for money laundering or cybercrime, while
enhancing transparency in the disclosure of digital asset trading prices for
off-platform transactions.
The SEC is therefore seeking public comments on the
proposed principles for supervising stablecoin transactions conducted through
DA operators and enhancing the efficiency of the SEC’s supervision. The key
elements are as follows:
1. Prescribing rules governing stablecoin transfers through
DA operators to prevent money laundering and circumvention of
regulations governing international money transfers:
- Stablecoins may be transferred into a customer’s
account held with a DA operator only from an originating account or digital
asset wallet (“wallet”) belonging to the same customer. Similarly, stablecoins
may be transferred out of the customer’s account only to a destination account
or wallet belonging to the same customer. Transfers from or to an account or
wallet belonging to another person are prohibited.
In this regard, both the
customer’s originating and destination accounts or wallets must be verified in
accordance with the Travel Rule and related requirements. Such verification
includes customer profiling, screening of information (whereby they must not be
mule accounts, or persons or wallets that pose risks of involvement in illegal
transactions), and the use of blockchain analytics tools to trace the movement
of digital assets and identify any links to high-risk or watchlisted wallets.
- The value of stablecoins transferred into and out of a
customer’s account must be commensurate with the customer’s source of income
and financial position. The value of inbound and outbound transfers is limited
separately to 5 million baht per customer per day with each DA operator. This
limit does not apply to transfers between a customer’s accounts held with DA
operators under the SEC’s supervision, provided that both the originating and
receiving DA operators comply with the Travel Rule.
- The 5-million-baht transfer limit does not apply to the
following: (1) customers that are DA operators, or DA operators whose purpose
is to operate a business, where stablecoins are transferred into or out of an
account held in the DA operator’s own name; (2) business operators under the supervision
of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) that have obtained approval from the BOT to use
stablecoins for business operations under a specified model on a case-by-case
basis; and (3) customers that are MMs for stablecoin/Thai baht trading pairs,
and cases where MMs are required to transfer stablecoins through DA operators
under the SEC’s supervision in order to perform their liquidity provision
function.
2. Prescribing rules governing off-platform transactions
of digital asset brokers (DA Brokers) and digital asset dealers (DA Dealers) to prevent
their use as a channel for money laundering or cybercrime, and to increase
transparency in the disclosure of digital asset trading prices. Where such DA
operators provide off-platform transaction services, they must proceed as
follows:
- The transaction value must be at least 3 million baht.
- Digital asset trading prices must be disclosed on the
operator’s website or platform to enhance transparency and enable price
verification.
- DA Brokers are prohibited from arranging off-platform
transactions directly between customers. However, they may act as brokers or
agents to facilitate the matching of customers’ orders through digital asset
exchanges (DA Exchanges).
3. Revising the rules governing MMs and LPs to enhance
clarity, transparency, and accountability, and to prevent their use as a
channel for money laundering or cybercrime.
3.1 In the case of DA Exchanges
- Require
DA Exchanges to disclose on their websites the names of MMs and the digital
assets for which they provide liquidity.
- Enhance the screening and supervision of MMs by
requiring DA Exchanges to screen, monitor, and review their activities to
ascertain the sources of the digital assets used in their operations and the
underlying purposes of their transactions.
3.2 In the case of DA Brokers
- Supervise LPs by prohibiting LPs for stablecoin/Thai
baht transaction pairs.
- LPs must not be located in countries or territories
that have no measures or do not apply the recommendations of the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF); must have anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism
financing measures; must be subject to oversight by a competent regulatory
authority, such as anti-money laundering or business operations; and must not
be subject to any grounds for believing that they would be unable to safeguard
assets securely.
- Disclose to customers the names of LPs and any
conflicts of interest between DA Brokers and LPs, and enhance the screening,
monitoring, and review of LP behavior in order to ascertain the sources of the
digital assets used and the underlying purposes of LP transactions.
4. Revising the rules for DA Brokers in supervising
source exchanges to ensure appropriate supervisory standards
- Source exchanges must be subject to oversight by a
competent regulatory authority, such as anti-money laundering or business
operations.
- Enhance the screening and ongoing monitoring of source
exchanges to prevent money laundering or cybercrime by applying an approach
comparable to the supervision of LPs.
5. Enhancing the effectiveness of the SEC’s supervision in cases
where DA operators fail to comply with the requirements for collecting and
disclosing information to the SEC. The SEC may order such operators to rectify
the non-compliance or take the necessary actions to ensure full and proper
compliance with the applicable requirements within the specified period. If the
DA operators fail to comply, the SEC may order them to take or refrain from
taking any action to ensure that the SEC receives complete and accurate
information for supervisory purposes.
The
consultation paper is available on the SEC website at https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/PB_Detail.aspx?SECID=1206 and on the Legal Hub at https://law.go.th/listeningDetail?survey_id=ODIxOURHQV9MQVdfRlJPTlRFTkQ=. Stakeholders and interested
parties are invited to submit comments via these websites or by email to kanin@sec.or.th and thapanee@sec.or.th.
The public hearing ends on 25 September 2026.