Thailand Becomes to First Country to Approve Legal ICO Portal for Issuers

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand has officially approved their first ICO and has established a formal regulatory ICO portal. It is the first country to do so after the Board of Directors of Thailand’s financial regulator gave the green light this week.

Here at The Tokenist, we’ve been following the crypto news in Thailand very closely. That’s because exciting things have been happening which could position the country as one of the leading crypto hubs in Asia. For example, just last month the country’s National Legislative Assembly effectively legalized tokenized securities in the country. In January, the Thai SEC also unexpectedly approved 4 cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Thai Stock Exchange has been clear in their plans to support security tokens in the future, but now we have an official regulatory framework in the works. The Thai SEC has officially approved their ICO portal for future token issuers. In a global first, the online portal will help issuers hold their own token offerings in compliance with Thai law.

A corresponding portal for STOs will also be announced shortly, according to the Bangkok Post.

The ICO Portal

Thailand’s ICO portal will allow authorities to properly screen ICOs, conduct due diligence, and monitor source codes for token issues. Proper KYC procedures will also be standardized.

Although formally approved by the SEC, the portal has yet to be approved by the government at large, especially the Commerce Ministry. However, analysts expect this to quickly move through and go live in the near future.

However, local reports said that the ICO portal is just one step towards further integration of the crypto market into the digital economy. And it seems like STOs are next. Archari Suppiroj, director of the fintech department at the Thai SEC, referenced it specifically in the report:

“In the future, the [Thai] SEC will issue a criterion that allows companies to apply tokenization to securities and other assets. This will help bridge the digital asset royal decree and securities… The next step is for an issuer to offer security tokens in the primary market.”

The ICO portal is exciting in its own right, but what makes this news even more important is that it’s a foreshadowing of what’s to come. Soon, Thailand will become the first country in the world to have a formal portal for ICOs.

What do you think of the news? Will Thailand become a hub for crypto in Asia in the not-so-distant future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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