Thai regulators have been tough on cryptocurrency and blockchain this year, and if they pull off their latest plan it will further tighten their grip on the industry.
The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to try and launch its first regulated initial coin offering (ICO) portal later this month, according to the Bangkok Post.
It appears that ICOs will be vetted on a case-by-case basis and will be added to the portal shortly after its launch, although there is no mention of a set date as yet.
“At least one ICO portal will be certified in November, then we can approve each ICO offering, which might start in December,” SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul said to the Bangkok Post.
Thai regulators believe having regulated ICO portals will help vet ICOs for their legitimacy, help investors conduct due diligence, and ensure know-your-customer (KYC) policies are being used.
The Thai government hasn’t been afraid to roll up its sleeves and get involved in the cryptocurrency industry. Earlier this year, the Bank of Thailand teased plans for a state-backed cryptocurrency.
The plans outlined how the project would be built on Corda, a closed and centralized distributed ledger. It seems Thailand is fine with cryptocurrency, so long as its on their terms.
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