Thai SEC Consults on Rules Allowing Exchanges to Offer Utility Tokens

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a consultation on rules for exchanges to issue their own utility tokens.

The regulator is proposing allowing crypto exchanges, or a person related to the exchange, to issue utility tokens for blockchain transactions, it said on its website. Exchanges will have to disclose the names of anyone related to token issuers so the SEC can monitor for insider trading.

The consultation comes as the regulator looks to strike a balance between allowing innovation while preventing illicit activity. In May it said citizens will be blocked from accessing crypto exchanges including Bybit and OKX from June 28, citing violations of the Digital Asset Business Act.

In March it added Tether’s USDT stablecoin and Circle’s (CRCL) USDC to its list of approved tokens that can be traded on exchanges. Previously, only bitcoin BTC, ether ETH, XRP XRP, stellar XLM and some tokens used in the Bank of Thailand’s settlement system were approved by the SEC.

Thailands’ SEC will be gathering opinions on its rules up until July 21, it said.