Thailand's SEC issues rules allowing local bitcoin and ether ETFs from Oct. 16

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission issued rules on Thursday allowing local asset managers to create bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds, with the regulations taking effect Oct. 16, CoinDesk reported. The funds must trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and track a single cryptocurrency, holding at least 80% of net asset value in that asset. Bitcoin and ether are the only eligible cryptocurrencies in the initial phase.

Investors must confirm they understand the risks before buying, brokers cannot lend clients money to buy crypto, and the funds' crypto holdings must sit with custodians regulated by Thailand's SEC. Thai asset managers may outsource crypto investment management to licensed digital-asset fund managers, and regulated digital-asset custodians and other qualified firms can register as fund supervisors for the ETFs, according to the report.

Until now, Thailand allowed only institutional and wealthy investors to invest in foreign crypto ETFs. The SEC also amended its rules so mutual funds and private funds can invest in Thai crypto ETFs, subject to existing investment limits. In the initial phase, it will not allow products that give non-institutional clients indirect access to foreign crypto ETFs, such as depositary receipts.

Thailand reportedly has the most crypto users per capita, at 20%, above the U.S. at 13% and Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa at about 19.4%, according to figures cited by CoinDesk. The regulator said last year it wanted to broaden the market beyond bitcoin.

CoinDesk described the approach as placing bitcoin and ether inside Thailand's conventional fund and exchange framework with added custody, disclosure and suitability safeguards. The rules follow the regulator's 2025 plan to expand its ETF offering beyond bitcoin.