Thai Regulators Make Moves to Tighten Crypto Rules
Thailand's Regulators have introduced tighter digital asset rules due to trading irregularities and the fall of a top acquisition involving a crypto exchange.
This move has affected Thailand's mission to become the top digital assets trading centre in Southeast Asia.
Cryptocurrencies in Thailand gained heightened popularity after the country became the first in the region to implement digital-asset legislation in 2018. Following this, the country's Securities and Exchange Commission licensed six platforms as exchanges, including Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co. and Zipmex Thailand.
However, the trust in the local crypto market has been under scrutiny following a recent case of insider trading by a Bitkub executive, who was later fined 8.5 million baht ($233,459) by the SEC, and a police complaint earlier this week against Zipmex and its chief executive officer also added to the doubt towards cryptos.
Thailand's local cryptocurrency instability has been compounded by the global crypto rout.
According to Bloomberg, «the stricter oversight, experts said, has compounded the blows from beyond Thailand: the plunge in Bitcoin, Ether and other tokens, as well as meltdowns of crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd., broker Voyager Digital Ltd. and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.»
The SEC is planning to enhance the supervision of digital assets to enhance investor protection through a working group.
«Most investors and market players are extremely deflated with negative headlines almost every day,» said Nares Laopannarai, secretary-general of the Thai Digital Asset Association. «Rising regulatory risks will make it harder to restore the excitement in the market, which has already been hit by weakening global sentiment.»
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