Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has banned crypto companies from offering staking and lending services. The decision to ban "depository services," which includes paying returns to depositors, was made to protect traders from the risks associated with crypto lenders.
Several crypto lenders such as Zipmex froze withdrawals over the past few months following a downturn in the crypto market. The Thai SEC filed a police complaint against Zipmex after the exchange failed to provide transactional information before a deadline. Thai SEC ass Zipmex to provide clarity on the withdrawal freeze in July.
Thailand's SEC has sued five entities for creating artificial volume on crypto exchanges Bitkub and Satang Corp. The regulator issued civil sanctions against two males and the Bangkok-based Bitkub as well. The three offenders, in this case, have been ordered to pay 24.2 million Thai baht ($636,000) to reimburse the SEC for its investigation expenses.
In August, the Thai SEC issued a $235,000 fine to Bitkub's chief technology officer following an insider trading investigation.
In the second case relating to Satang Corp., which is also based in Bangkok, Thai’s SEC issued civil sanctions to LLC Fair Expo and one male, with 12.1 million Thai baht ($318,000) being requested as payment.
Thailand’s largest crypto exchange Bitkub came under Thai’s SEC scrutiny over falsifying and creating artificial trading volume on its platform. The latest enforcement action against Bitkub is the second penalty for the crypto exchange within three months.
The Thai SEC also implemented stringent advertising rules for crypto firms operating in the country as of October 2022. Firms have to limit advertising and directly promoting crypto to "official channels" like their own websites and are required to hand over details of adverts and spending, including the use of social media influencers and bloggers and their terms, to the SEC.
Thailand was once seen as one of the most crypto-progressive nations in the world, thanks to a regulated crypto market and tax breaks for crypto traders. However, several leading crypto exchanges have faced regulatory and compliance challenges in the country even the likes of Binance and Huobi.