Thailand SEC opens consultations on Bitcoin and Ether ETF rules

Thailand is moving towards a regulatory framework for crypto ETFs.

The country’s SEC on Monday opened a public consultation on rules that would allow crypto ETFs to be established and traded in the country, while proposing higher standards for foreign digital-asset custodians to be used by funds investing in digital assets.

The proposed ETFs would be managed by asset management companies and would have to meet requirements similar to conventional ETFs and digital-asset mutual funds.

They would follow passive investment strategies and maintain an average net exposure of at least 80% of NAV to eligible crypto assets. Bitcoin and Ethereum would be the first permitted assets.

Under the proposed framework, crypto ETF assets would primarily be held with SEC-regulated Thai digital-asset custodians. The products would trade exclusively on stock exchanges and face additional investor-protection requirements, including disclosures covering their structure, risks and service providers, as well as measures requiring investors to acknowledge that they understand the risks before trading.

The SEC also wants to expand the domestic market by allowing Thai mutual funds and private funds to invest in locally established crypto ETFs, subject to existing investment limits. The regulator said foreign crypto ETF products would initially remain outside the framework.