Thailand moves toward crypto ETFs and tokenized products to attract funds

The regulator’s deputy secretary-general, Jomkwan Kongsakul, said formal guidelines for setting up crypto ETFs are expected “early this year,” describing ETFs as a way to give investors exposure without the operational risks associated with managing wallets and private keys. The same policy push also includes enabling crypto futures on the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) and supporting tokenized investment products, alongside proposals to introduce market makers to improve liquidity and to recognize digital assets as an official asset class under the Derivatives Act framework.

As part of the regulator’s guidance, crypto would be treated as another asset class and investors would be allowed to allocate up to 5% of a diversified portfolio to digital assets.

The regulator is also tightening oversight of “financial influencers.” Kongsakul said that recommendations related to securities or investment returns would require proper authorization as either an investment advisor or introducing broker, tightening the line around who can market investment ideas to the public.

Сrypto policy push comes alongside Thailand’s continued constraints on payment use cases. In 2022, Thailand issued rules banning digital assets from being used to pay for goods and services, with authorities citing financial stability and consumer-risk concerns, while allowing crypto activity for investment through regulated channels.

At the same time, retail trading remains active. Thailand’s largest exchange, Bitkub, has posted daily trading volumes of around $60 million, according to figures cited alongside the regulator’s institutional-hub messaging.

Thai regulatory body is also working with the central bank on a tokenization sandbox, with officials saying they plan to encourage issuers of bond tokens to enter the sandbox as part of supervised experimentation with tokenized securities-style products.

In a separate enforcement-related development, the regulator suspended KuCoin Thailand’s operations earlier in January after its capital fell below minimum maintenance requirements for five consecutive working days, spanning Dec. 29, 2025 through Jan. 2, 2026. 

KuCoin Thailand said the capitalisation dip was tied to an internal shareholder dispute that delayed approval of a planned capital increase, rather than a day-to-day liquidity shortfall. The company said it submitted a corrective plan to address the issue and is preparing to apply for a digital-asset broker license, which it says would allow it to offer a broader range of financial products.