Thailand SEC opens public comment on crypto ETF framework through September 20

The consultations put out by the Thailand SEC are at least two steps from being finalized as a formal rulebook. The regulator still needs to collect comments, revise recommendations, and then decide whether to authorize the products.

The August draft by the SEC follows its April consultation, where comments, most of which backed the regulator’s plan on custody arrangements, helped officials adjust parts of the original design.

No final approval or launch date commitments have been confirmed.

Only Bitcoin and Ethereum clear the bar in Thailand

The first phase of Thailand’s crypto ETF design plan only features the top two digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, and will trade exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The draft also requires licensed asset managers to run each fund as a passive vehicle that tracks the price of a single crypto asset and maintains an average net exposure of at least 80% of net asset value to its underlying coin in each accounting year.

Investor protection stipulations also apply, with disclosures on structure, risks, and service providers all named as requirements in the draft.

Thai mutual funds and private funds will also be able to buy locally domiciled crypto ETFs, along with the foreign-issued ETFs they can already hold. Current investment limits will still apply, though.

What the SEC will not green-light, at least during the initial phase, are alternative instruments tied to overseas crypto ETFs, such as depositary receipts.

What is different about the Thailand SEC’s new consultation?

One notable change in the Thai SEC’s August draft is how custody works since it last addressed the issue in April. The SEC’s new design keeps domestic digital asset custodians as the primary location for crypto ETFs.

The regulator also reserves the discretion to open the door for qualified foreign custodians “when necessary and appropriate in light of prevailing circumstances.” Qualified foreign custodians can also register as mutual fund supervisors for crypto ETFs.

Any foreign custodian that would offer digital assets in Thailand must have first cleared the bar in its home jurisdiction and operate under a regulator with real legal authority. Thai SEC judges also need to agree that the custodian meets its own asset protection standards.

Where this fits Thailand’s crypto push

The consultation extends a run of work the SEC has been doing through 2026. In January, deputy secretary-general Jomkwan Kongsakul said crypto ETFs had already won approval in principle and that the products would cut hacking and wallet-security worries that keep some investors out, as Cryptopolitan reported at the time.

Thailand cleared its first spot Bitcoin ETF back in June 2024, initially for institutions only.

Tax policy sits underneath the effort too. Thailand has run a 0% capital gains rate on crypto for years, a break that runs from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2029. The SEC frames the ETF framework as one more channel for pulling investor demand into regulated products.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.