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Thailand Curated

DeFi Intel Research Desk2026-07-14Asia

ISO 3166-1TH
RegionAsia
CapitalBangkok
Population70M
GDP rank (global)~31st nominal (2024)
Profile depthCurated

Yes — cryptocurrency is legal in Thailand. Current status: Legal — SEC licence regime since 2018. Oversight sits with Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand (Thai SEC). Full details — governing law, licensing, tax and dated enforcement history — follow below (last reviewed 2026-07-14).

Legal status

Legal — SEC licence regime since 2018

Primary regulator

Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand (Thai SEC)

Stablecoin status

USDT/USDC tradable since Mar 2025; payments use prohibited

Framework: Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018), as amended with effect from 13 April 2025; Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025).

Thailand runs one of Asia's oldest comprehensive digital-asset regimes. The 2018 Emergency Decree defines cryptocurrencies and digital tokens as regulated digital assets and puts licensing under the SEC with final sign-off from the Ministry of Finance. Licence categories now span digital asset exchanges, brokers, dealers, ICO portals, custodial wallet providers, digital-asset fund managers and investment advisors — as of 14 February 2025 the SEC counted 12 licensed exchanges, 13 brokers, 3 dealers, 9 ICO portals, 2 custodial wallet providers, 2 fund managers and 2 advisors.

The regime was overhauled in 2024–2025. In August 2024 the SEC launched a Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox (9 August) and revised its utility-token supervision framework (13 August). On 16 March 2025 the SEC added USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) to its list of cryptocurrencies permitted for use in digital-asset transactions — a significant shift for baht-stablecoin trading pairs, though digital assets remain barred as a general means of payment. The most consequential change came on 13 April 2025, when amendments to the Emergency Decree took effect alongside the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025): offshore platforms that "target" Thai users now need a Ministry of Finance licence even with no Thai presence, peer-to-peer crypto services by foreign platforms are criminalised, opening or lending "mule" accounts for crypto transactions is an offence (up to three years' imprisonment and a 300,000-baht fine under the cybercrime framework), and licensed operators must screen suspicious transactions, maintain blacklists and share intelligence with authorities. The SEC used the new powers within weeks — five offshore exchanges were blocked from 28 June 2025 (see enforcement below).

Tax treatment

The headline change is Ministerial Regulation No. 399 (B.E. 2568), announced on 5 September 2025: personal-income-tax exemption for capital gains on sales of digital assets made through SEC-licensed exchanges, brokers or dealers, applying retroactively from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2029. The exemption covers capital gains only — income from staking, mining, airdrops or operating a digital-asset business is not covered unless the Revenue Department issues further guidance. Before the exemption, the Revenue Code imposed a 15% withholding on digital-asset gains, softened in 2022 by relief for trades on licensed exchanges. Gains realised on unlicensed (including blocked offshore) platforms remain fully taxable — the exemption is deliberately engineered to pull volume onto licensed venues.

Travel rule applicability

Status: in force as AML/CDD obligations; a formal FATF-style travel rule is at consultation stage. Licensed operators are AML-obligated entities under the Anti-Money Laundering Act: customer due diligence on all transactions, plus reporting to AMLO of cash transactions of 2 million baht or more, property transactions of 5 million baht or more, and suspicious transactions. A dedicated Recommendation 16 travel rule is now being formalised: after stakeholder engagement in March–April 2026, the SEC opened a public consultation on 26 June 2026 on a joint SEC/AMLO draft notification requiring operators to collect and transmit originator and beneficiary information with digital-asset transfers, retain transaction records for at least five years, and verify customer ownership or control of self-hosted wallets before processing transfers involving them. The rules were not yet law as of 14 July 2026; final thresholds are pending.

Notable enforcement actions

Public licensed CASP list

Digital asset business operators licensed under Thailand's Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018), per the Thai SEC's official licensee directory:

Showing 12 of 29 distinct licence holders; the directory also covers digital asset dealer, custodial wallet provider (Rakkar Digital, Merkle Capital, Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest), digital token fund manager and investment advisory licences. Source: Thai SEC — List of Licensees, as of July 2026.

State tokenisation and tourism pilots

Thailand is also using the framework to issue and absorb digital assets itself. On 13 May 2025 the Cabinet approved the Finance Ministry's G-Token programme — digital investment tokens issued and managed by the ministry that carry rights to principal repayment and returns, described as the world's first publicly offered tokenised government bond. Implementing rules came into force on 21 July 2025, and the inaugural offering was sized at 5 billion baht (about US$153 million), aimed at retail savers priced out of conventional bond minimums.

On the demand side, the SEC, the Ministry of Finance, AMLO and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports launched TouristDigiPay, an 18-month sandbox beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025 (operator applications ran 25 September – 26 December 2025). Foreign tourists convert crypto into baht through regulated digital-asset operators, with the proceeds loaded into a KYC-verified e-wallet for QR-code payments — a conversion model, not direct crypto payment, which remains prohibited. Merchant receipts are capped at 500,000 baht per month (50,000 baht for small vendors), and the government projects a spending boost of up to 10%.

Comparison to neighbours

Compare Thailand crypto regulation with three geographically adjacent jurisdictions:

Malaysia Laos Cambodia

Doing business in Thailand — practical notes

Serving Thai users requires a digital-asset business licence issued by the Ministry of Finance on the SEC's recommendation — and since 13 April 2025 that requirement reaches offshore platforms deemed to target Thai users, with the June 2025 blocking of Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, XT.COM and 1000X demonstrating enforcement through both criminal complaints and ISP-level blocks. Licensed venues from the SEC register include Bitkub Online (the largest domestic exchange), Gulf Binance, Upbit Exchange (Thailand) and Orbix Trade, alongside licensed brokers such as Bitazza and InnovestX. Commercially, the 0% capital-gains window to end-2029 applies only to trades through licensed operators, which concentrates retail flow onto local licences; conversely, digital assets cannot be used as a means of payment, so consumer-facing crypto commerce must route through conversion structures such as the TouristDigiPay sandbox. Operators should also budget for the incoming SEC/AMLO travel rule (five-year record retention, self-hosted-wallet ownership verification) now in consultation.

Methodology and sources

This profile was researched and updated by DeFi Intel's research desk on 2026-07-14 from the primary and secondary sources listed below. Claims that could not be verified against a source are omitted or marked pending — we do not republish unverified third-party datasets. Submit corrections and primary-source links to research@defi-intel.com.

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Is cryptocurrency legal in Thailand in 2026?

Yes, cryptocurrency is legal in Thailand under an SEC licence regime since 2018, with oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand (Thai SEC).

What stablecoins are permitted for digital-asset transactions in Thailand?

USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) have been permitted for use in digital-asset transactions since 16 March 2025, though digital assets remain barred as a general means of payment.

What is the personal income tax exemption for digital asset gains in Thailand?

Ministerial Regulation No. 399 (B.E. 2568) exempts capital gains on sales of digital assets through SEC-licensed exchanges, brokers, or dealers from personal income tax, applying retroactively from 1 January 2025 through 31 December 2029.

Entities mentioned

Securities and Exchange Commission (Thailand)USD CoinCircleTetherTether USD