Thailand Strengthens Crypto Oversight with Travel Rule Regulations
Thailand is strengthening its oversight of cryptocurrency transactions to meet global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards. The country's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new Travel Rule regulations, requiring digital asset operators to collect information about parties involved in crypto transfers.
The rules will take effect on February 27, 2027, giving cryptocurrency businesses nearly six months to develop systems for transmitting, receiving, and monitoring transaction information. This move aligns Thailand with a growing global push to track who sends and receives cryptocurrency, as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) estimated that 83% of surveyed jurisdictions had passed Travel Rule legislation by 2026.
Under the new framework, Thai digital asset operators must verify the ownership or control of self-hosted wallets when customers send crypto to or receive it from those wallets. This includes checking the ownership of self-custodial wallets, which give users direct control over their private keys and are not managed by centralized exchanges (CEXs) or custodians.
The requirements put more responsibility on cryptocurrency companies to identify the parties behind transfers, including those involving self-custodial wallets. The SEC's secretary-general, Pornanong Budsaratragoon, said the rules aim to 'reduce the risk of digital asset operators being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.'