Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has announced a set of new legal regulations for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICO). Its expected that the law will be introduced toward the end of June.
As things stand, of the 50 ICO projects in the country, only 5 will meet the new registration requirements set out by the regulator. To issue tokens, companies must meet a number of criteria established by the SEC. For example, they must have an authorized capital of around 150 thousand U.S. dollars (5 million baht). In addition, retail investors can buy into an ICO project with 9 thousand U.S. dollars (300,000 baht) at most, or no more than 70% of the total cost of offered tokens.
The SEC has not yet disclose which ICO projects will be approved. According to local news, the commission’s director of corporate finance in equity department, Thawatchai Kiyatkwankul, said that of the 50 ICO currently ready to commence raising funds on the Thai market, five are ready as initial pilot projects.
The regulator also put on halt the registration of any new ICO’s before new legislation comes into force. However, the law will not apply to "previously-leveraged" companies, which can continue with their business as before.
To gain the regulator’s permission to trade, the ICO issuer must first obtain approval from the ICO portal where it wants to be included. Such portals are set to act as financial advisers to issuers, ensuring that principles of "know-your-customer" (KYC) are followed. After the portal grants the approval, the SEC will take several months to consider accepting the ICO.
By Ekaterina Ulyanova