
Thailand may permit bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to list on local exchanges for the first time as the country vies to nurture a digital assets hub, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The regulator is considering allowing individuals and institutions to invest in local bitcoin ETFs, secretary-general Pornanong Budsaratragoon said on Wednesday.
The local fund manager One Asset Management launched a fund-of-funds offering exposure to overseas bitcoin ETFs in June 2024, but Thailand has not yet given the green light to vehicles that invest directly in the original cryptocurrency.
The potential shift in stance comes as the race to establish a digital-assets centre in the Asia-Pacific region heats up. Singapore and Hong Kong have adopted supportive regimes. Further afield, President-elect Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he intends to make the US the world’s crypto capital.
“Like it or not, we have to move along with more adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide,” Ms Pornanong said in an interview at her office on Tuesday. “We have to adapt and ensure that our investors have more options in crypto assets with proper protection.”
Binance and other digital-assets firms have earmarked Thailand as a key growth market as the country eases restrictions.
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is a crypto advocate. In a wide-ranging speech on Monday about reviving the capital markets, he said Thailand should consider issuing stablecoins backed by government bonds to retail and institutional investors as well as exploring other avenues for digital currencies.
The SEC will consider allowing local firms with strong credit ratings to issue new stablecoins backed by their own bonds in the hope of widening access to corporate debt markets and lowering costs, Ms Pornanong said.
Digital-asset trading activity in Thailand is picking up in line with a wider rally that pushed bitcoin to a record high of $108,315 in December, but remains well short of its pandemic-era peak, after a string of crypto bankruptcies in 2022 hollowed out the market.
There were about 270,000 active crypto trading accounts in Thailand as of Nov 30, according to the latest SEC data.