Thailand regulates digital asset businesses under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018). Operators carrying out digital asset exchange, broker, dealer, fund management, advisory or custodial wallet services must obtain a licence from the Ministry of Finance upon the recommendation of the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Our team specializes in launching and licensing various commercial structures. We possess enormous expertise and extensive professional background, which gives us possibilities to accompany our clients in getting SPI license, Forex-license, gambling permit and others.
General information
| Regulator | Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ministry of Finance |
| License Type | Digital Asset Business License under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses. Covers exchange (trading center), broker, dealer, fund manager, advisor, and custodial wallet provider |
| Minimum Capital | No single universal threshold publicly fixed. Capital depends on license type but in practice requires substantial paid-up capital, often reaching millions of Thai Baht or higher depending on scale and infrastructure |
| Time to Obtain | Typically 4–6+ months, including SEC review and Ministry of Finance approval. Complex applications may take longer |
| Passporting (EU) | No. A Thai license does not provide EU passporting rights |
| Local Office | Required. Company must be incorporated in Thailand, maintain a registered office, local management, and full compliance (AML/KYC, IT systems, governance) |
Getting a crypto-license in Thailand: basic requirement points
In 2018, country’s authorities introduced legislative modifications aimed at increasing transparency and control in crypto-market. In accordance with these modifications, virtual assets were divided into 3 categories: crypto-currencies, tokens and others. All exchanges, exchangers and other virtual currency service providers need to register with the SEC.
To get this permit to operate in Thailand, companies need to meet certain national standards, detailed in relevant legislative basis.
Legislative norms introduced in 2018 requires all virtual assets firms to get a crypto-license from SEC. It’s mandatory for businesses engaged in mext-mentioned activities.
- Trading crypto-assets.
- Brokerage and dealership with crypto-assets.
- Digital assets supervision.
- Exchanging crypto-assets.
- Other actions related to virtual assets according to regulator’s rules.
Additionally to licensing normative points, digital asset firms need to implement customer background checks, monitor transactions to comply with AML/CFT laws, and maintain security to protect customer assets.
It’s worth noting Thailand developed recommendations for banks and other financial establishments on use of crypto-currencies in payment systems. These guidelines require financial facilities to conduct customer due diligence, monitor transactions, and report suspicious transactions to appropriate authorities.
Our team provides fully-covering services in getting various types of permits, particularly, PSP-licenses in Hong Kong, Forex-permits in Germany, crypto-permits in Estonia and others.
Regulation of local crypto-market
Country’s Commission regulates business-activities of any digital asset business in Thailand. Additionally to such authority, regulation engages Bank of Thailand, Illegal Monetary Means Circulation Preventing Authority, which enforces law basis in this niche, and Ministry of Finance appointing specialists to inspect companies licensed to deal with crypto-assets locally.
Conditions for getting a permit for crypto-exchangers include possessing a physical office for registration and communication with authorities, and possessing office-premises, even if it’s virtual.
To successfully get a digital asset business license, the applicant must be a Thai-incorporated company, meet the paid-up capital requirement for the relevant licence category, have qualified directors and management, maintain appropriate governance and internal controls, and demonstrate operational, cybersecurity, AML/CFT and customer asset protection systems acceptable to the SEC.
After receiving a permit and a year-period of operation, exchangers need to submit an SEC-report, undergo an audit, and provide a financial due diligence report.
Advantages of this license in Thailand
Getting a crypto exchange license in Thailand provides plenty of possibilities.
- It’s appealing for ambitious structures because of its prestige.
- There’s a supportive basis for virtual currencies.
- Technological startups receive governmental help.
- There’s a framework of rules for governmental crypto-activities.
- Permitting procedure is fair and simple.
- A favorably-set basis was created for innovations and experimentation.
Procedure for getting a crypto-license
Although this way is distinguished by its simplicity, it requires applicants to demonstrate a deep acknowledgment of locally-existing legislative basis. Start is preparation of mandatory documentation by company, carefully ensuring its correspondence with SEC-requirements. It’s essential to note that each document needs to have an English version.
Approx time-frame, including registration of a firm, preparation of documentation and application, and getting VFA-permit, based on type of permit:
- for crypto-exchange: from 9 months to a year-period;
- for crypto-brokers: 7-9 months;
- for cryptocurrency dealers: 5-7 months.
It’s essential to note that specific deadlines depend on speed of provision of mandatory information and workload of regulative authorities.
Firms needing support in the process of license-getting, legalization and progress of cryptocurrency business-project may seek help from our team, where only experienced professionals work.
The general procedure is to implement the following.
- Company launching in accordance with Thai law.
- Presence of director and managers with excellent clean reputation and appropriate qualifications.
- Mandatory presence of capital and deposit in a banking account locally meeting rules and standards for various categories of permits.
- Providing a detailed business-plan and services description.
- Submission of documentation confirming identities, addresses and absence of criminal records of directors and shareholders.
- Providing audited financial statements and developing cybersecurity measures.
- Demonstration of the company’s technical capabilities and payment of needed min capital.
- Filling out application.
As mentioned earlier, regulation of crypto-currencies is currently handled by the SEC; it confirmed plenty of virtual assets such as Ripple, Stella and others as legal means of exchange. Several crypto-exchangers, brokers and dealers are allowed to function. All crypto-currency managers and deposit advisors, both new and existing, need to apply for a permit in Thailand from February 24, 2021. Crypto-exchanges need to provide customers’ data for business-to-business deals, specifically in the context of KYC-compliance. ICOs of new virtual currencies need to obtain SEC-approval, follow a draft registry, and register them through an SEC-certified resource.
Virtual asset business may be considered in 3 categories: exchanging, brokerage and dealer. All operators need to obtain a crypto-license in accordance with SEC-guidelines and meet certain regulative rules and standards.
Tax system
Regarding taxation system for crypto-licenses, for tax-purposes, any profits from deals or exchanges of locally-used e-assets are covered by personal and corporate incomes tax according to local laws. Tax-rate is 15%.
How much does crypto-license cost in Thailand?
Cost of getting this permit is calculated individually for each entrepreneur, since it depends on plenty of third-party factors. Our experts provide you with a preliminary price estimate before cooperation begins.
Our service range
- We prepare all mandatory documentation, policies and processes for comprehensive application.
- We develop KYC-materials and mechanisms.
- We organize timely submission of official application to regulatory authorities with provision of all mandatory documentation.
- We provide the entire process of interaction with regulative bodies, including re-examination of application and subsequent inspections.
- We provide advice and support at all phases, including participation in interviews with regulators.
- We help you fulfill basic conditions, such as creating a legal structure and getting a banking account.
- Support after getting permission, providing advice on all aspects of business-activities.
- We develop individual recommendations and strategies, bearing in mind specifics of your business-activities.
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- We guarantee expert support based on our knowledge and expertise in global market-trends.
With our expertise and professionalism, we help you speed up the process of getting a permit and start operating in promising global jurisdictions.
Our firm specializes in assistance in getting licenses for crypto-operations worldwide. We guarantee the following privileges to our customers.
- Our experts have in-depth knowledge of legislation and licensing norms. They provide professionally-covering support at all phases of getting a permit.
- We offer individual consultations, bearing in mind unique needs and characteristics of each organization.
- We provide a fully-covering range of services, including preparation of mandatory documentation, interaction with regulative authorities and consultancy on compliance with standards.
- Our lawyers maintain excellent relationships with regulators, resulting in more efficient communication and reducing time needed to get a permit.
Thanks to our expertise and professional approach, we help clients speed up process of getting permits and optimize costs.