Thailand’s central bank will receive more power as the South-East Asian nation steps up regulation of digital assets, said Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.
See related article: Thailand bans Bitcoin and crypto payments
Fast facts
- Thailand plans to tighten its supervision of platforms and exchanges that offer trading in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, Bloomberg reported quoting Termpittayapaisith.
- Currently, the country’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), regulator of capital markets, has the sole mandate to supervise the digital assets industry according to the country’s rules passed in 2018, the report said.
- The SEC has been asked to take lead on the amendments, Termpittayapaisith said.
- The move comes after Thailand’s regulators were criticized for not taking prompt actions to protect investors of Zipmex (Thailand), a licensed cryptocurrency exchange that temporarily suspended withdrawals last month.
- While the platform has resumed withdrawals of certain tokens in a phased manner, it has filed for a moratorium in Singapore for protection from creditors against any lawsuits and to buy time for raising funds.
- Despite its trouble with Zipmex, Thailand has been quick to issue licenses and has reportedly approved four more digital asset operators in the country last week. This brings the total number of licensed digital asset operators in Thailand to 21, including three fund managers, nine exchanges and nine brokers, according to local media.
See related article: Thailand eases crypto tax burden until 2023 to promote industry