The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission to Go Hard on Domestic ICOs

According to the SEC of Thailand, there has been an enormous attention to details of getting a license for operating on the country’s crypto market. At least 50 initial coin offering ventures confirmed their willingness to go legal after the Finance Ministry had introduced a draft regulating digital assets.

“License approvals are being processed. Many companies interested in opening digital asset exchanges have said digital assets and cryptocurrency trading in the Thai market are quite active," the SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul told the Bangkok Post.

The SEC secretary-general revealed that around 50 ICO companies turned to the governmental institution in order to clarify the process of getting a certificate. However, it is still unclear how many of them will obtain proper documents allowing their crypto initiatives to collect money.

Current Progress

Rapee commented that three out of five ICO projects, that aspired to obtain a license, already registered with the SEC. Moreover, it was reported that around 20 companies, aiming to operate a cryptocurrency exchange, also applied for authorization.

The process of authorization continues almost five months after the application is submitted. Firstly, the SEC sends the paper to the Finance Ministry within 90 days. Then the Ministry decides whether to issue a license over the next 60 days. Digital currency companies must comply with a number of requirements, including Thailand residence, obedience to pay the authorized capital, and reliable financial status.

Thailand’s Vision

Thailand demonstrates its positive attitude towards regulation of crypto coins and blockchain technology. Last week, the Bank of Thailand gave domestic banks permission to create subsidiaries for interaction with virtual coins. Furthermore, banks are able to issue crypto tokens now as well as provide digital currency brokerage services.

As it was previously reported, the Thai authorities have submitted a royal decree to speed up the regulation of the domestic crypto sector, which obliges all operators of crypto exchanges, issuers and brokerage organizations to register with the SEC before performing any financial operations. The regulatory framework came into effect on July 16, some of the new measures allow ICO companies to use seven digital currencies, namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Stellar and Litecoin.