Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new restrictions that would cap inbound and outbound stablecoin transfers involving external wallets at five million baht, or roughly $151,000, per customer, operator and day. The consultation, published on Sept. 11, would require stablecoins deposited with or withdrawn from licensed digital asset businesses to move only between accounts verified as belonging to the same customer.
Under the proposed framework, licensed digital asset operators could accept stablecoin deposits only from an account or wallet belonging to their own customer, and withdrawals would need to go to another account or wallet verified under the same customer’s name. Sending stablecoins from another person’s wallet into a customer’s exchange account would be prohibited, as would withdrawing stablecoins from a regulated operator directly to another person’s wallet. Operators would also need procedures for verifying ownership, classifying customers, screening account information, and checking whether wallets are linked to mule accounts, watchlists or transactions with elevated illegal-finance risk. Blockchain analytics or comparable monitoring tools would be required to trace digital asset movements and identify links to high-risk wallets.
The five-million-baht cap includes several exemptions. Transfers between accounts held at Thai-regulated digital asset operators would not face the daily ceiling when both businesses comply with the Travel Rule. Businesses transferring stablecoins through accounts held in their own names, institutions supervised by the Bank of Thailand, and qualifying market makers supplying liquidity to stablecoin-baht pairs would also receive exemptions under certain conditions. Public comments remain open through Sept. 25, with the proposed requirements set to take effect 60 days after the resulting notification becomes effective.
Thailand’s SEC said the consultation is intended to address money laundering, cybercrime and attempts to bypass controls governing international money transfers. The regulator paired the stablecoin transfer controls with proposed standards for off-platform transactions handled by digital asset brokers and dealers. Such trades would need a minimum value of three million baht, or roughly $91,000, and businesses providing the service would need to publish digital asset trading prices on their websites or platforms. Digital asset brokers could not arrange direct off-platform transactions between two customers, but could act as agents that match customers through an exchange.
The proposal also adds more checks for market makers and liquidity providers. Licensed exchanges would need to publish the names of their market makers and identify the digital assets for which each firm supplies liquidity. Liquidity providers could not operate from jurisdictions that fail to implement Financial Action Task Force recommendations, and brokers would need to disclose their liquidity providers and any conflicts of interest to clients. The notice does not provide a date for final approval, and the SEC can revise, postpone or abandon parts of the proposal before issuing final requirements.
