Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed limiting inbound and outbound stablecoin transfers involving external wallets to five million baht, or roughly $151,000, per customer, operator and day.
Summary
- Thailand’s SEC proposes daily stablecoin transfer caps of five million baht per customer and operator.
- Deposits and withdrawals would be restricted to accounts or wallets verified as belonging to customers.
- Transfers between compliant Thai-regulated operators would remain exempt from the proposed five-million-baht daily transfer ceiling.
- Businesses, authorized institutions and qualifying market makers would receive exemptions under the regulator’s proposed framework.
- Public comments remain open through September 25, with requirements proposed to start sixty days later.
The regulator’s consultation, published on Sept. 11, would require stablecoins deposited with or withdrawn from licensed digital asset businesses to move between accounts verified as belonging to the same customer. Public comments remain open through Sept. 25.
Inbound and outbound transfers would each carry the five-million-baht ceiling. The dollar equivalent uses an indicative exchange rate and can change with the Thai baht.
The proposed rules are not yet in force. Thailand’s SEC said it opened the consultation to address money laundering, cybercrime and attempts to bypass controls governing international money transfers.
Thailand SEC would block third-party wallet transfers
Licensed digital asset operators could accept stablecoin deposits only from an account or wallet belonging to their customer. 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 therefore be prohibited. A customer could not withdraw stablecoins from a regulated operator directly to another person’s wallet.
The restriction covers transfers involving foreign digital asset operators and private wallets. Thai businesses would need procedures for verifying ownership before processing the transaction. Ownership checks would operate alongside Travel Rule requirements. Operators would need to classify customers, screen account information and check whether a wallet is linked to mule accounts, watchlists or transactions presenting an 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 consultation does not name specific analytics providers or prescribe one technical platform.
In related coverage, crypto.news reported that Thailand proposed five-year recordkeeping and wallet checks under an expanded Travel Rule framework. The stablecoin consultation focuses more narrowly on ownership, transfer values and regulated operator responsibilities.
The five-million-baht cap has several exemptions
For transfers involving a private wallet or foreign operator, a customer’s stablecoin deposits and withdrawals could not exceed five million baht per day at each licensed business. At current exchange rates, the limit equals close to $151,000.
The permitted value would need to remain consistent with the customer’s income and financial position. Operators could therefore apply a lower practical threshold when a transfer does not match information collected during customer checks.
Transfers between accounts held at Thai-regulated digital asset operators would not face the five-million-baht ceiling when both businesses comply with the Travel Rule. Customer information would move through the regulated system, giving each operator a record of the parties involved.
Several customer groups would receive separate exemptions. Businesses transferring stablecoins through accounts held in their own names would not face the same ceiling when the activity serves their stated commercial purpose. Institutions supervised by the Bank of Thailand could qualify when the central bank authorizes stablecoin use for a particular business arrangement. Approval would be assessed case by case.
Market makers supplying liquidity to stablecoin-baht pairs would receive an exemption when transfers are required for liquidity management. The proposal does not create a general waiver for every market-making transaction, leaving regulated operators responsible for confirming that activity fits the stated function.
Off-platform trades would face price disclosure rules
Thailand’s SEC 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, equal to roughly $91,000 at the current exchange rate.
Businesses providing the service would need to publish digital asset trading prices on their websites or platforms. The disclosure requirement is designed to let customers verify the prices used for transactions completed outside regular order books.
Digital asset brokers could not arrange direct off-platform transactions between two customers. They could act as agents that match customers through an exchange, according to the consultation.
The proposal draws a distinction between brokers, which arrange transactions for clients, and dealers, which trade as principals. Each category would remain subject to controls intended to prevent off-platform services from being used for cybercrime or money laundering.
No transaction-volume estimates were supplied for Thailand’s existing off-platform market. The regulator did not publish data showing how many current transactions would fall below the proposed three-million-baht minimum.
Market makers and liquidity providers face more checks
Licensed exchanges would need to publish the names of their market makers and identify the digital assets for which each firm supplies liquidity. Screening would cover the source of assets and the actual purpose of market-making transactions.
Exchange operators would have to monitor and periodically review market-maker conduct. The regulator said the controls are intended to improve transparency and prevent liquidity arrangements from becoming channels for illegal fund movements.
For digital asset brokers, the proposal would prohibit liquidity providers from serving stablecoin-baht trading activity. Other liquidity providers would face location, regulatory and anti-money-laundering requirements.
A qualifying provider could not operate from a jurisdiction that fails to implement Financial Action Task Force recommendations. The provider would need oversight from an appropriate business or anti-money-laundering regulator, while the broker would need reasonable grounds to believe customer assets can be safeguarded.
Brokers would have to disclose their liquidity providers and any conflicts of interest to clients. Reviews would cover asset origins, transaction purposes and provider behavior.
Source exchanges used by brokers would face comparable standards. They would need regulatory supervision and ongoing screening based on controls applied to liquidity providers.
Consultation closes on September 25
Stakeholders can submit comments through theThai SEC website, Thailand’s central legal consultation portal or the email addresses listed in the notice. The deadline is Sept. 25. Following consultation, the SEC can revise, postpone or abandon parts of the proposal before issuing final requirements. The notice does not provide a date for approving the final text.
Stablecoin rules covering transfers, market makers, liquidity providers, source exchanges and off-platform transactions are proposed to take effect 60 days after the resulting notification becomes effective.
Separate provisions would strengthen the SEC’s response when digital asset operators fail to collect or disclose required information. The regulator could order a business to correct the breach within a stated period and, if noncompliance continues, direct it to perform or stop specified activities.
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