Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to reconsider the law on blockchain-related businesses next year. This will be to protect investors from any kind of fraud while expanding and growing their digital assets.
Green Light for Crypto
According to the SEC's Secretary-General Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, the financial watchdog is focused on checking whether the legislation represents obstacles for progress in the digital assets sphere:
For example, laws should not be outdated and should serve market needs, especially for new digital asset products, said the official.
At the moment, four blockchain-based and crypto-related areas are subject to Thailand's financial regulations - digital exchanges, brokerage firms, dealers, and initial coin offering (ICO) service providers. Exchanges, brokers, and dealers are required to apply for a license from the Finance Ministry, while ICO portals need to seek approval by the SEC. The SEC also pointed out that new rules will "cover cryptocurrencies, digital tokens, and any other electronic data unit".
At the moment, none of three ICO portals authorized by the SEC have managed to start their operations. This could be treated as evidence that the strict regulatory requirements should be reconsidered.
Binance CEO Applauds
This information has already been welcomed by Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the crypto exchange Binance. Mr. Zhao treats this announcement as a plus for the mass adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), despite the significant price drop:
Thailand joins the party. Bitcoin still not dead.
During the meeting, amendments related to penalties were also discussed. Per the cryto law, any unauthorized ICO dealers and/or promoters that are caught are subjected to a fine of ฿500,000 and two years in prison.
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