Thailand’s SEC plans to drag hidden funders of crypto firms into its major‑shareholder regime, tightening AML rules even as it opens the door to Bitcoin‑linked derivatives and ETFs.
Summary
- Thailand’s securities regulator plans to subject behind‑the‑scenes funders of crypto firms to the same approval standards as major shareholders.
- The proposal targets “significant funding support” such as guarantees, structured investments and back‑to‑back contracts used to disguise control and illicit capital flows.
- The move comes as Thailand tightens digital‑asset oversight while simultaneously positioning itself as a regional hub for crypto ETFs and derivatives.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing new rules that would drag hidden financial backers of domestic crypto businesses into the same regulatory net as their largest shareholders, in a direct attempt to choke off disguised capital and illicit money flows.
According to a flash update from Chinese outlet ChainCatcher, the draft framework would force “funding providers behind major shareholders of cryptocurrency companies” to undergo the same approval process as those shareholders if they provide “significant funding support” through guarantees, financing contracts or structured investments. While the SEC has not yet published the full text in English, the proposal is expected to apply to licensed exchanges, brokers and dealers regulated under Thailand’s Royal Decree on Digital Asset Business.
The initiative builds on a wider clean‑up of ownership structures already under way in Bangkok. In February, Thailand’s Ministry of Finance adopted an order tightening the definition of a major shareholder in digital‑asset firms to include any person holding more than 5% of voting rights directly or indirectly, or anyone effectively “controlling management or operations,” according to an official notice tracked by Digital Policy Alert.
A separate legal briefing from Silk Legal notes that, under SEC News No. 52/2026, operators have 180 days from Mar. 4, 2026 to “review their ownership structures, identify newly qualifying major shareholders, and submit approval applications for those not previously approved,” closing long‑standing loopholes around nominee and layered holdings. These look‑through tests will now extend to financiers whose capital effectively determines who controls a crypto platform, even if their name never appears on the cap table.
Thai authorities have paired ownership scrutiny with more aggressive policing of money laundering through digital‑asset platforms. In March, local exchanges froze more than 10,000 accounts suspected of acting as so‑called “mule” wallets under a new “Speed Bump” measure, according to a report from MEXC News citing the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO). The SEC has also proposed a “Travel Rule” regime that would require crypto businesses to collect and share sender‑and‑recipient data on every transfer, a move SEC secretary‑general Pornanong Budsaratragoon described as “a cornerstone of the regulator’s proactive strategy” to prevent the ecosystem becoming a conduit for fraud and money laundering, The Nation reported.
These measures come even as Thailand tries to cement its reputation as a crypto‑friendly jurisdiction. In February, the SEC confirmed that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin would be recognized as underlying assets under the country’s Derivatives Act, allowing them to back regulated futures products, a shift Pornanong said would “promote market inclusiveness” and “enhance portfolio diversification and risk management.” Deputy secretary‑general Jomkwan Kongsakul has separately said the commission plans to release formal guidelines to support crypto exchange‑traded funds “early this year,” with investors likely permitted to allocate up to 5% of diversified portfolios to digital‑asset products once the framework takes effect, according to the Bangkok Post as cited by CoinMarketCap and crypto.news.
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