Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has approved new rules allowing asset managers to launch local exchange-traded funds tracking Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The regulations take effect on October 16, marking another step in the country’s push to integrate digital assets into traditional financial markets.
Under the framework, ETFs must be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and track a single cryptocurrency, with only BTC and ETH eligible at the initial stage. Each fund must maintain exposure to its underlying asset equal to at least 80% of net asset value. Digital assets must be held by custodians supervised by the Thai SEC, and asset managers may outsource crypto investments to licensed digital asset fund managers.
The rules include investor protection measures: retail buyers must acknowledge they understand the risks, and brokers are prohibited from lending money to clients for crypto purchases. The SEC also amended regulations to let mutual funds and private funds invest in Thai crypto ETFs within existing investment limits. Deposit receipts offering indirect access to foreign crypto ETFs will not be authorized at this stage.
The approval expands regulated access in a market where roughly 20% of the population already owns cryptocurrencies, according to data cited by World. Before this, only institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals could access foreign crypto ETFs. While attention may shift toward altcoins such as XRP, HYPE, DOT, DOGE, and APT, the initial regulatory green light directly covers only Bitcoin and Ether.
