The Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand's crypto market regulator, finalized its crypto Travel Rule on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
- The rules take effect Feb. 27, 2027 and apply to crypto businesses supervised by the SEC.
- Under the regime, operators must collect information about customers and their counterparties, pass sender and recipient information between platforms, check counterparties and retain transfer records for at least five years.
- Transfers involving self-hosted crypto wallets (e.g. MetaMask, Phantom, Exodus or Ledger) also face ownership or control checks.
Deposits could get stuck
A Q&A published alongside the rules spells out one of the more consequential details. When crypto arrives at a regulated platform, the receiving operator must collect information from the sending operator before allowing the recipient to move crypto out again.
For transfers above 30,000 baht (roughly $900 as of press time), users must provide additional information about the recipient, including their city or province and country. The SEC says the threshold derives from FATF's $1,000/euro benchmark.
The SEC also says the rules don't affect trading inside an exchange or transfers and withdrawals of Thai baht as they only apply to moving crypto so far.
Binance TH, Bitkub and others are in scope
The requirements apply broadly to SEC-regulated crypto businesses, meaning Thailand's licensed crypto exchanges will have to adapt their transfer systems.
- The SEC's current list includes Bitkub, Binance TH operator Gulf Binance, Orbix Trade, Upbit Thailand, Z.com EX operator GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics and WAANX, among others.
The rules are technically interim. Thailand's SEC introduced them with the Anti-Money Laundering Office while AMLO prepares broader regulations under the country's anti-money-laundering law.
That means Thailand's crypto-transfer regime may not be finished yet.