Thailand SEC Welcomes Accredited Investors to Embrace US Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made changes to its regulations, allowing the launch of private funds that invest in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) traded on US exchanges. However, these private Bitcoin ETF funds will only be available to institutional investors and “ultra-high-net-worth individuals”, according to a report from the Bangkok Post. The previous regulations did not cover digital asset ETFs, but after the US securities regulator approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, they became classified as securities under Thai regulations. The SEC secretary-general, Pornanong Budsaratragoon, explained that only accredited investors will be allowed to have exposure to Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) due to their high-risk nature. Retail investors in Thailand will not have access to these spot Bitcoin ETFs. Retail crypto trading is popular in the country, but its usage is restricted. The government outlawed the use of digital assets for payments in March 2022, and the SEC banned the use of cryptocurrencies for lending and investment in July 2023. However, the SEC did allow retail investors to purchase digital tokens backed by real estate or infrastructure projects in January. The largest crypto exchange in Thailand, Bitkub, offers 107 pairs and has a daily volume of around $155 million. Binance also entered the Thai market with a new exchange in January, but it is only accessible to Thai nationals.