Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Travel Rule for digital assets, requiring operators to transmit sender and recipient information with transactions and retain transfer records for at least 5 years.
The Thai SEC issued risk management rules for digital asset transfers and receipts. The new requirements will take effect on February 27, 2027, and are intended to strengthen measures against money laundering, terrorist financing, and the use of cryptocurrencies in technology-related crimes.
The new framework sets out 4 key requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs):
- develop policies and procedures to manage risks associated with digital asset transfers and receipts;
- collect information on customers and their counterparties, and verify VASPs involved in transactions;
- transmit information on the sender and beneficiary to the receiving VASP at the same time as the transfer instruction;
- retain information accompanying each transaction for at least 5 years and ensure it can be promptly provided to supervisory authorities.
The SEC paid particular attention to transactions involving non-custodial wallets. When sending assets to self-custody services or receiving funds from such an address, an operator must determine who owns or effectively controls the wallet. If an intermediary is involved in the transfer route, the relevant digital asset operator must also be verified.
The SEC developed the rules jointly with Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO). The decision to introduce interim regulation for digital asset operators was made for the period while AMLO develops its own rules under anti-money laundering legislation.
Before approving the requirements, the SEC conducted 2 rounds of public consultations. According to the regulator, most participants supported the proposed provisions. The Travel Rule will take effect on February 27, 2027, giving market participants time to develop and implement systems for transmitting and receiving data, as well as monitoring transactions.
SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon said the new rules should reduce the risks of digital asset operators being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. The regulator also expects the Travel Rule to bring Thailand’s regulatory framework in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and facilitate the long-term integration of the local digital asset market with international infrastructure.
Recently, the Thailand SEC proposed changes to the rules governing investor access to foreign digital asset derivatives. Meanwhile, the Thailand government is actively participating in international initiatives exploring tokenization and is also developing a retail CBDC pilot project.
