On May 13, 2025, Tether announced that the Tether Gold Token (XAU₮) would be listed on the Thai digital asset exchange Maxbit. According to Tether, 1 XAU₮ corresponds to 1 ounce of gold in the real world.
Previously, on March 10, 2025, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that USDT is recognized as a cryptocurrency, and the Thai Deputy Prime Minister also announced that Thailand intends to use cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to promote the development of local tourism.
Figure 1 Tether officially announces the gold token's entry into Thailand
Earlier, on December 7, 2023, Tether announced a partnership with Bitkub, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand, to launch an educational project on stablecoins and blockchain knowledge in Thailand. Both parties will enhance the digital financial awareness of Thai users through educational courses, general campaigns, incentive learning programs, and Q&A shows. Notably, USDT is also the most traded stablecoin among Thai users and on the Bitkub exchange.
Tether, the issuer of the globally largest stablecoin USDT, reported in its latest Q1 2025 financial report that as of March 31, the market value of the stablecoins issued by Tether was approximately 143.7 billion USD, holding approximately 120 billion USD in US Treasury bonds, with an increase of about 7 billion USD in USDT supply in Q1 and an addition of 46 million user wallets.
Even as a leader among stablecoins, Tether has been actively embracing regulations in recent years, hoping to gain more regulatory endorsement and market share. On January 13 of this year, after obtaining a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license issued by El Salvador, Tether announced the relocation of its headquarters and related entities from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to the Central American country of El Salvador, where the CEO and COO also purchased properties and obtained local residency.
Thailand, one of the most active economies in Southeast Asia, is a world-renowned tourist destination with an export-oriented economy and frequent cross-border capital and personnel flows. Under the influence of various factors, the Thai government's policies on digital assets are quite friendly, attracting many industry giants and startups to engage in cryptocurrency businesses in Thailand. According to a global cryptocurrency adoption index released by Chainalysis in 2024, Thailand ranked 16th.
Figure 2 Chainalysis announces the 2024 cryptocurrency adoption index ranking
This article will take Tether's strategic layout in Thailand as a starting point to summarize the characteristics of digital asset regulation in the Thai market.
Thailand's regulatory attitude towards digital assets
Thailand's regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrency assets has undergone a transformation from cautious observation to active embrace, closely related to global digital economic development trends and adjustments in Thailand's domestic economic strategy.
On May 14, 2018, Thailand enacted the Digital Asset Business Act, dividing digital assets into two main categories: cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. The main distinction is that cryptocurrencies serve as a medium of exchange, while digital tokens represent rights. At the same time, the act primarily regulates cryptocurrency assets from two dimensions: the issuance of digital tokens and the operation of digital asset businesses, including exchanges, market makers, service providers, fund managers, investment advisors, and custodian wallet service providers.
Thailand's regulation of token issuance
1. Regulated token issuance: investment-type tokens, utility tokens preparing to list on exchanges, cryptocurrencies.
Based on different sources of income, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission categorizes digital tokens into real estate digital tokens, infrastructure digital tokens, sustainable development-related digital tokens, debt tokens, etc. In 2022, the real estate company SC Asset raised approximately 300 million Thai Baht (about 8 million USD) through an STO, becoming the first approved case.
If investors want to issue regulated tokens, they must meet the following conditions:
Obtain permission from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission;
Submit a registration application for digital token issuance to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission and submit a prospectus for the token issuance;
Meet the qualification requirements set by regulations.
2. Exempted token issuance: digital tokens issued by the Bank of Thailand (BOT), consumption-type utility tokens, limited offerings that meet specific conditions.
Consumption-type utility tokens:
Issuer issues tokens based on consumption purposes or as digital certificates;
Tokens not based on consumption purposes or as digital certificates, but limited to use in specific distributed ledger systems, such as tokens used within centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), tokens used as discounts or other subsidies in licensed digital exchanges, and tokens representing voting rights.
Issuers must meet SEC requirements regarding investor disclosure and satisfy one of the following specific conditions for limited offerings:
Issued to institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth clients;
Issued to specific investors with a special relationship with the issuer, with an issuance period not exceeding 12 months, and the number of specific investors not exceeding 50;
Issuance period not exceeding 12 months, and total issuance value not exceeding 20 million Thai Baht.
Thailand's regulation of digital asset exchanges
Regulated digital asset exchanges are centers or networks that provide services for buying, selling, and matching transactions of digital assets.
Conditions required for digital asset exchanges:
1. Entity registered in Thailand and licensed by the Ministry of Finance of Thailand;
2. Exchanges are not allowed to engage in digital asset trading business;
3. The registered capital paid in shall not be less than 100 million Thai Baht;
4. Maintain the net asset level required by regulations;
5. Comply with regulatory requirements for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing;
6. Fulfill KYC, CDD, and the obligation to report suspicious transactions in a timely manner.
Lawyer Mankun's suggestion
1. To engage in token issuance business in Thailand, it must be done through a registered company entity in Thailand, and the characteristics of the token must be assessed to determine whether a license from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission is required;
2. The company's management, such as directors, executive directors, and other management personnel, must not have bankruptcy or criminal case records;
3. The company must have a reliable business plan and audited financial statements;
4. The company should pay attention to timely disclosure of its operational and financial data in accordance with SEC requirements.
Compliance with Thailand's digital asset business regulations, please contact and consult Lawyer Lu.
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Author of this article: Lawyer Deron Lu