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February 21, 2022

Thailand’s SEC Opens Public Hearing Period on Digital Asset Advertising Rules

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On February 14, 2022, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a public hearing period on proposed advertising regulations for digital asset businesses.

The public hearing period is now open for general comments until March 15, 2022.

In the announcement, the SEC expressed their intention to provide clear digital asset advertising principles that conform to regulations in other countries, such as Singapore, the UK, and Japan. The SEC, in a meeting on February 3, agreed that the principles to be developed should apply to all digital asset businesses operating in Thailand.

During the public hearing period, any interested parties may comment on the SEC’s proposed principles, which include the following key points:

  • Advertisements that educate, inform, or give facts about digital assets, investments or services, or that provide an overall picture of digital assets, must not exaggerate, distort, or conceal information, or otherwise mislead consumers. In addition, advertisements that refer to customer numbers must only indicate the number of customers who have received approval to open an account and who are ready to use the service.
  • Advertisements must be clear and appropriate, provide a warning on investment risks, and include clear and noticeable SEC-mandated statements in the font size stipulated by the SEC. Advertisements that present positive information or suggest an opportunity to receive returns must provide a balanced view that also discloses negative information or states investment risks.
  • Advertisements relating to cryptocurrencies can only be made via a business operator’s official channels (e.g., the operator’s website, app, or other official online channel), and cryptocurrency cannot be advertised in public areas (e.g., billboards, public transportation, websites, newspapers and periodicals, etc.). However, advertisements for the services of a digital assets business can still be made in public areas and other channels. For example, this can be understood as meaning that an exchange can advertise in public their services as a marketplace for digital assets, but may not name any cryptocurrencies in doing so.
  • Business operators must monitor their own advertisements as well as those of affiliated companies that are not regulated by the SEC, to ensure they comply with the specified regulations. This applies to companies in the same group and to related individuals (e.g., shareholders, directors, marketing content creators, social media influencers, and others connected to the management or operations of the business).
  • Cryptocurrency business operators can no longer use introducing broker agents (IBAs)—in contrast to current practice. However, business operators that deal with digital tokens only are permitted to use IBAs.

The SEC is accepting feedback on the proposed principles through an official comment form and an online system.

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