SEC seeks public comments on proposed principles for supervising stablecoin transactions to mitigate financial fraud risks

Bangkok, 11 September 2026 - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comments on the proposed principles for the supervision of stablecoin transactions conducted through digital asset business operators (DA operators), in order to prevent and mitigate the risks of digital assets being used as a channel for money laundering, cybercrime, or circumvention of regulations governing international money transfers, as well as to enhance the efficiency of the SEC's supervision of DA operators.<_o3a_p>

The SEC Board, at its meeting in September 2026, resolved to approve the principles for the supervision of the transfer of stablecoins through DA operators, off-platform transactions conducted by DA operators, and the operations of DA operators that engage market makers (MMs), liquidity providers (LPs), or source exchanges in providing services. The framework aims to prevent money laundering, circumvention of regulations governing international money transfers, and the misuse of off-platform transaction channels for money laundering or cybercrime, while enhancing transparency in the disclosure of digital asset trading prices for off-platform transactions.

The SEC is therefore seeking public comments on the proposed principles for supervising stablecoin transactions conducted through DA operators and enhancing the efficiency of the SEC's supervision. The key elements are as follows:<_o3a_p>

1. Prescribing rules governing stablecoin transfers through DA operators to prevent money laundering and circumvention of regulations governing international money transfers:<_o3a_p>

- Stablecoins may be transferred into a customer's account held with a DA operator only from an originating account or digital asset wallet ("wallet") belonging to the same customer. Similarly, stablecoins may be transferred out of the customer's account only to a destination account or wallet belonging to the same customer. Transfers from or to an account or wallet belonging to another person are prohibited.<_o3a_p>

In this regard, both the customer's originating and destination accounts or wallets must be verified in accordance with the Travel Rule and related requirements. Such verification includes customer profiling, screening of information (whereby they must not be mule accounts, or persons or wallets that pose risks of involvement in illegal transactions), and the use of blockchain analytics tools to trace the movement of digital assets and identify any links to high-risk or watchlisted wallets.<_o3a_p>

- The value of stablecoins transferred into and out of a customer's account must be commensurate with the customer's source of income and financial position. The value of inbound and outbound transfers is limited separately to 5 million baht per customer per day with each DA operator. This limit does not apply to transfers between a customer's accounts held with DA operators under the SEC's supervision, provided that both the originating and receiving DA operators comply with the Travel Rule.<_o3a_p>

- The 5-million-baht transfer limit does not apply to the following: (1) customers that are DA operators, or DA operators whose purpose is to operate a business, where stablecoins are transferred into or out of an account held in the DA operator's own name; (2) business operators under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) that have obtained approval from the BOT to use stablecoins for business operations under a specified model on a case-by-case basis; and (3) customers that are MMs for stablecoin/Thai baht trading pairs, and cases where MMs are required to transfer stablecoins through DA operators under the SEC's supervision in order to perform their liquidity provision function.

2. Prescribing rules governing off-platform transactions of digital asset brokers (DA Brokers) and digital asset dealers (DA Dealers) to prevent their use as a channel for money laundering or cybercrime, and to increase transparency in the disclosure of digital asset trading prices. Where such DA operators provide off-platform transaction services, they must proceed as follows:<_o3a_p>

- The transaction value must be at least 3 million baht.<_o3a_p>

- Digital asset trading prices must be disclosed on the operator's website or platform to enhance transparency and enable price verification.<_o3a_p>

- DA Brokers are prohibited from arranging off-platform transactions directly between customers. However, they may act as brokers or agents to facilitate the matching of customers' orders through digital asset exchanges (DA Exchanges).

3. Revising the rules governing MMs and LPs to enhance clarity, transparency, and accountability, and to prevent their use as a channel for money laundering or cybercrime.<_o3a_p>

3.1 In the case of DA Exchanges<_o3a_p>

- Require DA Exchanges to disclose on their websites the names of MMs and the digital assets for which they provide liquidity.<_o3a_p>

- Enhance the screening and supervision of MMs by requiring DA Exchanges to screen, monitor, and review their activities to ascertain the sources of the digital assets used in their operations and the underlying purposes of their transactions.<_o3a_p>

3.2 In the case of DA Brokers<_o3a_p>

- Supervise LPs by prohibiting LPs for stablecoin/Thai baht transaction pairs.<_o3a_p>

- LPs must not be located in countries or territories that have no measures or do not apply the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF); must have anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures; must be subject to oversight by a competent regulatory authority, such as anti-money laundering or business operations; and must not be subject to any grounds for believing that they would be unable to safeguard assets securely.<_o3a_p>

- Disclose to customers the names of LPs and any conflicts of interest between DA Brokers and LPs, and enhance the screening, monitoring, and review of LP behavior in order to ascertain the sources of the digital assets used and the underlying purposes of LP transactions.

4. Revising the rules for DA Brokers in supervising source exchanges to ensure appropriate supervisory standards<_o3a_p>

- Source exchanges must be subject to oversight by a competent regulatory authority, such as anti-money laundering or business operations.<_o3a_p>

- Enhance the screening and ongoing monitoring of source exchanges to prevent money laundering or cybercrime by applying an approach comparable to the supervision of LPs.

5. Enhancing the effectiveness of the SEC's supervision in cases where DA operators fail to comply with the requirements for collecting and disclosing information to the SEC. The SEC may order such operators to rectify the non-compliance or take the necessary actions to ensure full and proper compliance with the applicable requirements within the specified period. If the DA operators fail to comply, the SEC may order them to take or refrain from taking any action to ensure that the SEC receives complete and accurate information for supervisory purposes.<_o3a_p>

The consultation paper is available on the SEC website at https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/PB_Detail.aspx?SECID=1206 and on the Legal Hub at https://law.go.th/listeningDetail?survey_id=ODIxOURHQV9MQVdfRlJPTlRFTkQ=. Stakeholders and interested parties are invited to submit comments via these websites or by email to [email protected] and [email protected]. The public hearing ends on 25 September 2026.

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