Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has written a 5 million baht daily stablecoin cap on deposits and withdrawals into draft rules, moving the plan it floated in September one step closer to taking effect. Under the draft, published on Thursday, each customer could move no more than 5 million baht (about $148,000) of stablecoins into, and separately out of, an account at each licensed digital asset operator per day, and only to or from wallets verified as their own. Comments are open until Nov. 26.
The regulator says the aim is to stop stablecoins being used for money laundering, cybercrime and getting around Thailand’s rules on international money transfers. For Thai crypto users who move USDT or other dollar tokens on and off local exchanges, the rules would change what a normal transfer looks like.
What the draft says
According to the Thai SEC’s announcement (No. 253/2569, in Thai), a customer could only deposit stablecoins from an account or wallet verified as belonging to them, and only withdraw to one verified the same way. Transfers from or to anyone else’s wallet would be banned.
Both ends of a transfer would have to meet the Travel Rule, the standard that makes crypto firms collect and pass on sender and recipient details. Operators would also have to classify customers, screen out mule accounts and risky wallets, and run blockchain analytics to check for links to flagged or watchlisted addresses.
Transfer values must match the customer’s source of income and financial position. On top of that sits the hard limit: no more than 5 million baht in and no more than 5 million baht out, per person, per day, at each operator. Moves between a customer’s accounts at two Thai operators are not capped, as long as both firms apply the Travel Rule.
Who is exempt
The cap would not apply to four groups:
- Licensed digital asset operators moving stablecoins through accounts in their own name for business purposes.
- Businesses supervised by the Bank of Thailand that have the central bank’s case-by-case approval to use stablecoins.
- Market makers for stablecoin/baht pairs, when they need to move stablecoins through Thai operators to provide liquidity.
- Subscriptions and refunds for SEC-approved digital token offerings handled through licensed ICO portals, including payouts of principal and returns to investors.
The fourth exemption is new. The SEC’s September consultation on the principles listed only the first three. The cap itself, the own-wallet rule and the Travel Rule carve-out for transfers between Thai operators are unchanged from that paper. The SEC said it took comments from that round into account when drafting the notification.
Market makers, brokers and OTC desks
The draft goes beyond transfers. Digital asset exchanges would have to publish on their websites the names of their market makers and which assets each one supports, and screen and monitor those firms to learn where their assets come from and what their trades are for.
Brokers would be barred from using liquidity providers for stablecoin/baht pairs. Any other liquidity provider would have to sit in a jurisdiction that applies Financial Action Task Force recommendations, be supervised by a regulator and have anti-money laundering controls. Brokers would have to disclose their liquidity providers and any conflicts of interest to clients, and the overseas exchanges they route orders to would also need to be regulated.
Off-platform deals by brokers and dealers would carry a 3 million baht minimum (about $89,000), and their prices would have to be published. Brokers could not arrange off-platform trades directly between two customers, though they could still route orders to Thai or foreign exchanges. The SEC could also order operators that fail to collect or report required data to fix it within a set deadline.
Why it matters
The 5 million baht limit is high for most retail users, but it puts a ceiling on the kind of large, fast stablecoin flows that exchanges see from over-the-counter traders and people moving money across borders. The own-wallet rule may matter more day to day. Paying a friend or a merchant straight from a Thai exchange account in stablecoins would no longer be allowed, and every withdrawal address would need to be tied to the customer.
The draft also fits a wider push by the Thai regulator against offshore platforms and illicit flows. Earlier this month the SEC filed a criminal complaint against Bitget’s operator and asked the digital ministry to block the platform from Dec. 5. Stablecoin oversight is tightening elsewhere too, including the Financial Stability Board’s call for stablecoin rules in Turkey.
The next step is the final notification. The SEC has not given an effective date, and the version issued after the Nov. 26 deadline will show whether the cap, the exemptions or the market maker rules shift again. Cointelegraph and Thai outlets reported the same core terms after Thursday’s release.
FAQ
What is Thailand’s proposed daily stablecoin cap?
Under the SEC’s draft, each customer could deposit at most 5 million baht and withdraw at most 5 million baht of stablecoins per day at each licensed operator, counted separately, and only using wallets verified as their own.
Does the cap apply to transfers between Thai exchanges?
No. Moving stablecoins between a customer’s own accounts at two Thai operators is not capped, provided both operators apply the Travel Rule.
When will the rules take effect?
No date has been set. The draft is open for public comment until Nov. 26, 2026, after which the SEC will decide on the final notification.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
