Thailand: crypto and stablecoin regulation (as of 2 November 2026)

As of 2026-11-02

In Thailand, digital asset businesses are regulated under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018), which was published in the Royal Gazette on 13 May 2018 and has been in force since 14 May 2018, according to the summary of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under section 26 of the decree, a digital asset business operator must obtain a licence from the Minister upon the recommendation of the SEC. An amending decree, the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses (No. 2) B.E. 2568, was given on 11 April 2025. In 2021 the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said that a baht-backed stablecoin used as a medium of payment may fall within e-money under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560. In 2026 the SEC and the BOT each published proposals on stablecoins: the SEC proposed principles for stablecoin transfers through digital asset business operators (consultation closed 25 September 2026), and the BOT proposed principles for THB stablecoin issuers and wallet providers (public hearing until 17 November 2026). Both are proposals, not rules in force. Section quotes from the decree come from the SEC-hosted unofficial English translation; only the Thai text has legal force. Thai-language sources are given here in English rendering.

This page states what the government sources say. It is not legal advice.

Status as of 2 November 2026

Status	Rule	Since / from	Source
In force	Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018): published in the Royal Gazette on 13 May 2018 and in force from 14 May 2018, per the SEC explanatory summary. It requires digital asset business operators to obtain a licence.	14 May 2018	SEC Thailand, SEC Thailand (unofficial translation)
Adopted	Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025): "Given this 11th day of April B.E. 2568 (2025)". It comes into force on the day after its publication in the Royal Gazette; the publication date was not read from an official page.	11 April 2025 (signing date)	SEC Thailand (unofficial translation)
Statement	BOT policy on supervising stablecoins (BOT news No. 16/2564): a baht-backed stablecoin used as a medium of payment may fall within e-money under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560, and those who want to provide such a service should consult the BOT first.	19 March 2021	Bank of Thailand
Statement	BOT on THT (BOT news No. 15/2564): if THT or similar stablecoins were used widely to replace the baht, the BOT considers it illegal under section 9 of the Currency Act B.E. 2501.	17 March 2021	Bank of Thailand
Statement	SEC and BOT meeting with digital asset business operators on the supervision of stablecoin transactions, "particularly stablecoin-related transactions such as USDT and USDC". The SEC says: "The relevant regulations are expected to be issued within this year."	7 August 2026	SEC Thailand
Proposed	SEC principles for supervising stablecoin transactions through digital asset business operators: approved by the SEC Board on 3 September 2026 and put to public consultation on 11 September 2026. "The public hearing ends on 25 September 2026." Not in force.	Consultation 11 September 2026 to 25 September 2026	SEC Thailand (Board), SEC Thailand (consultation), SEC Thailand (English release)
Proposed	BOT consultation paper on principles for supervising businesses related to THB stablecoin (BOT Payment Systems Policy and FinTech Department, October 2026). Public hearing from 19 October to 17 November 2026; the BOT page shows the hearing as still open. Not in force.	Public hearing 19 October 2026 to 17 November 2026	Bank of Thailand, Bank of Thailand (consultation paper)

Key rules

Licensing (Decree section 26, unofficial translation). A digital asset business operator "shall obtain a licence from the Minister upon the recommendation of the SEC." (SEC Thailand (unofficial translation))
Operators abroad (Decree section 26, third paragraph, unofficial translation). "A digital asset business operator under the first paragraph shall include a digital asset business operator who operates its business outside the Kingdom of Thailand but provides services to persons within the Kingdom of Thailand, except for the services as specified in the notification of the SEC." (SEC Thailand (unofficial translation))
Baht-backed stablecoins in payments (BOT, 2021). A baht-backed stablecoin used as a medium of payment may fall within e-money under the Payment Systems Act B.E. 2560, which the BOT supervises; those who want to provide such a service are asked to consult the BOT before starting. (Bank of Thailand)
Other stablecoins (BOT, 2021). FX-backed, asset-backed and algorithmic stablecoins that are not illegal were left for a later public consultation before the BOT decides on an appropriate supervisory approach. (Bank of Thailand)
Baht substitutes (BOT, 17 March 2021). If THT or similar stablecoins were used to replace the baht widely, the BOT considers it illegal, as making, distributing, using or issuing objects or signs in place of money, an offence under section 9 of the Currency Act B.E. 2501. (Bank of Thailand)
Proposed: own wallets only (SEC, September 2026). Under the SEC proposal, stablecoin transfers into and out of a customer's account at a digital asset business operator must come from, or go to, accounts or wallets of that same customer; transfers from or to other persons' accounts are prohibited. (SEC Thailand)
Proposed: daily limit (SEC, September 2026). Under the SEC proposal, inbound and outbound stablecoin transfers are each limited to 5 million baht per day per person per digital asset business operator. Transfers between customer accounts through Thai digital asset business operators, where both operators use the Travel Rule, are not subject to that limit. (SEC Thailand)
Proposed: liquidity providers (SEC, September 2026). For digital asset brokers, the SEC proposes to "Supervise LPs by prohibiting LPs for stablecoin/Thai baht transaction pairs." (SEC Thailand)
Proposed: backing assets and redemption (BOT, October 2026). Under the BOT proposal, an issuer must have a mechanism that always keeps the value of a THB stablecoin equal to the baht; in the initial phase 100% of the backing assets must be deposits, and holders must be able to redeem coins for baht at 1 to 1 within 1 business day. (Bank of Thailand)
Proposed: no interest (BOT, October 2026). Under the BOT proposal, issuers may not pay interest, returns or any incentive calculated on the holding period or holding value of a THB stablecoin, directly or indirectly, because the coin is for payment only, not for saving or investment. (Bank of Thailand)
Proposed: segregation and disclosure (BOT, October 2026). Under the BOT proposal, issuers must keep backing assets separate from the company's other assets, publish daily the status of the backing assets and the total number of coins issued, and have the backing assets checked by an external auditor at least once a year. (Bank of Thailand)
Proposed: limited number of issuers (BOT, October 2026). Under the BOT proposal, in the initial phase the THB stablecoin ecosystem will limit the number of issuers, so that the coins issued are stable, credible, transparent and closely supervised. (Bank of Thailand)
Proposed: offshore exchanges (BOT, October 2026). Under the BOT proposal, wallet providers must not serve or connect to digital asset exchanges abroad that are outside the supervision of the SEC. (Bank of Thailand)
Licensed operators (SEC licence check). The SEC licence check for digital asset business operators, read on 1 November 2026, shows no as-of date. It lists company rows per licence type: Digital Asset Exchange 7, Broker 14, Dealer 5, Fund Manager 3, Advisory Service 2 and Custodial Wallet Provider 11; some companies appear in several sections. It has no stablecoin-issuer category. (SEC Thailand)

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
13 May 2018	Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 published in the Royal Gazette	SEC Thailand
14 May 2018	Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses enters into force	SEC Thailand
17 March 2021	BOT statement on THT and stablecoins used to replace the baht	Bank of Thailand
19 March 2021	BOT publishes its policy on supervising stablecoins	Bank of Thailand
11 April 2025	Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses (No. 2) B.E. 2568 given (signed)	SEC Thailand (unofficial translation)
7 August 2026	SEC and BOT meet digital asset business operators on supervising stablecoin transactions	SEC Thailand
3 September 2026	SEC Board approves the proposed principles for supervising stablecoin transactions through digital asset business operators	SEC Thailand
11 September 2026	SEC opens the public consultation on the proposed stablecoin transaction principles	SEC Thailand
25 September 2026	SEC public hearing on the proposed stablecoin transaction principles ends	SEC Thailand
19 October 2026	BOT opens the public hearing on the proposed THB stablecoin principles	Bank of Thailand
17 November 2026	BOT public hearing on the proposed THB stablecoin principles closes	Bank of Thailand

Not covered here

The Royal Gazette copies of the decree and its 2025 amendment could not be read, so the section quotes come from the SEC-hosted unofficial English translation, and the publication and in-force date of the 2025 amendment are not given. When the SEC stablecoin transfer regulations will be issued is not known; the SEC said in August 2026 that they are expected within the year. The outcome of the BOT THB stablecoin hearing is not known; the BOT page shows the hearing as still open. The BOT paper says it may later consider proposing changes to the relevant laws, and whether high-quality liquid assets such as short-term government bonds will later be allowed as backing assets is not decided in the sources this page uses. The SEC consultation paper itself was not read; the SEC proposal rows follow the Thai text of the SEC release, and the Thai and English versions of the release word the exemption from the 5 million baht limit differently. An SEC release on adding USDT and USDC to the cryptocurrency list in 2025 was not located and is not covered here.

Sources

Updated: 2026-11-02 · Markdown version