The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is about to ban digital asset custody services in the country.
The SEC’s official website published a ban on digital asset operators providing or maintaining custody services for digital assets with depository return and lending.
According to the document, the Thai government is preparing to pass the relevant bill on October 17. The regulator intends to prohibit crypto platforms from providing cryptocurrency staking and lending services. The SEC representatives named the protection of citizens from “risks of such transaction providers” as the main motivation for such drastic decisions.
Under the planned ban, crypto platforms will not be allowed to:
- accept deposits in digital assets;
- promise to pay depositors a return on their participation in staking;
- advertise cryptocurrency lending services.
As for the last point, the SEC plans to impose strict rules for advertising companies of cryptocurrency firms operating in the country. Crypto companies will be prohibited from advertising their services without SEC’s approval, even on “official channels,” that is, on their own websites and social media pages.
In March this year, the Thai government abandoned the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency, as the SEC saw it as a threat to the country’s financial system. However, the Bank of Thailand plans to launch a Thai CBDC pilot project by the end of the year.
