Thai SEC draft lets one company seek derivatives licences
News from Thailand's SEC would let one digital-asset company apply for exchange, clearing and intermediary licences, with comments through 28 November.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has asked, in News No. 232/2026 of 29 October 2026, for comments on eight draft notifications that would let a digital-asset business apply for a derivatives exchange licence, a derivatives clearing-house licence, or an intermediary licence through the company it already operates, following the designation of digital assets as eligible underlying assets under the Derivatives Act Buddhist Era 2546 (2003).
On 29 October 2026 the Commission published that English release and opened comments on drafts for derivatives exchanges, derivatives clearing houses, and intermediary businesses, so digital assets can serve as underlyings under the Derivatives Act. The release ties the drafts to a principles hearing from April to May 2026, says most stakeholders agreed and added suggestions, and states that the public hearing ends on 28 November 2026. Respondents are pointed to hearing paper อนป 73/2569 at consultation SECID 1235 and to the government Legal Hub. What follows names the eight drafts, the March designation, the overseas-access consultation, and the separate permissions in the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Key facts on the hearing
- Notice and date: The English release of 29 October 2026, datelined Bangkok, seeks comments on derivatives businesses that reference digital assets.
- Corporate vehicle: A digital-asset operator would apply for derivatives licences through the company it already runs.
- Eight drafts on one form: Hearing paper อนป 73/2569 lists three derivatives-business drafts, four exchange and clearing drafts including fees, and one financial-statement draft.
- Deadline printed on the release: The public hearing ends on 28 November 2026, via the Commission site, the Legal Hub, or the email addresses split between intermediary licensing and infrastructure licensing.
- Designation the Commission cites: The 31 August 2026 release says the Board has determined cryptocurrencies and digital tokens to be additional underlyings, and its footnote identifies Notification Kor Thor 2/2569, dated 5 March 2026.
- Adjacent penalty restated by the Commission: The 24 October 2025 Worldcoin release restates Section 66 of the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses Buddhist Era 2561 (2018): imprisonment of two to five years, a fine of 200,000 baht to 500,000 baht, and a daily fine of up to 10,000 baht.
Methodology and sources
The account uses Commission documents from the Cabinet step of 10 February 2026 through 29 October 2026, plus the 24 October 2025 release that reprints the statutory penalty. The English release of 29 October 2026 is the core text, and consultation SECID 1235 supplies the draft titles, paper อนป 73/2569, and the named officers. The 10 February 2026 release supplies the Secretary-General’s statement, the 20 April 2026 release is the principles consultation, and the 31 August 2026 release at SECID 1201 cites Notification Kor Thor 2/2569. Comparison uses the Commodity Exchange Act, 17 CFR 143.8, section 82 of Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act 2001, and Hong Kong’s Cap 571 with a section 114 prosecution. Baht figures that appear only in untranslated annexes stay outside the numbers below.
What the eight draft notifications cover
The English release frames a revision of the licensing framework for a derivatives exchange, a derivatives clearing house, and intermediary business, so digital assets can be underlyings under the Derivatives Act Buddhist Era 2546 (2003). It states the corporate point in one sentence: digital-asset business operators would be able to apply for derivatives business licences without having to establish new companies. The stated reasons are unified oversight, recognition of digital assets as an investment asset class, and a further hedging tool. The hearing form turns that sentence into eight separate questions.
Thailand’s one-company derivatives path, as the 29 October 2026 release and hearing paper อนป 73/2569 describe it, lets a digital-asset business operator apply for derivatives permissions through the legal entity it already uses. The release covers three permissions, namely a derivatives exchange, a derivatives clearing house, and intermediary business, all tied to digital assets as underlyings under the Derivatives Act Buddhist Era 2546 (2003). The Commission says it has prepared eight draft notifications, and the public hearing ends on 28 November 2026. Consultation SECID 1235 lists an amendment to derivatives-business licensing, an application for a licence to operate derivatives business related to digital assets, a draft on services that fall outside digital-asset custody, separate issuance drafts for an exchange licence and a clearing-house licence, two fee notifications, and a draft on financial statements of exchanges and clearing houses. Comments go through the Commission website, the Legal Hub, or the printed email addresses.
The form’s section 3.1 holds the licensing amendment, the digital-asset derivatives application, and the custody draft; section 3.2 holds the exchange licence, the clearing-house licence, and two fee notifications; section 3.3 holds the financial-statement draft behind the release’s reporting point. The 20 April 2026 principles paper, which the October release says most stakeholders supported, already required conflict measures where a digital-asset exchange could see client orders. Comments on intermediary licensing go to hathaiphat@sec.or.th and ekarit@sec.or.th, and comments on infrastructures go to nopnol@sec.or.th, patima@sec.or.th, wasin@sec.or.th, and dusit@sec.or.th, with the officers’ telephone numbers printed on the form and the press desk remaining at (66) 2033-9502-5.
How four licensing perimeters compare
The Thai drafts remove an incorporation step and still treat exchange, clearing, and intermediation as distinct instruments, while the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong already allow one company to hold several statuses that each remain a separate licence.
| Jurisdiction / regulator | Effective date | Scope | Key requirement | Penalty / sanction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand (Securities and Exchange Commission) | Hearing opened 29 October 2026 and closes 28 November 2026. Notification Kor Thor 2/2569 is dated 5 March 2026. Drafts take effect after the Commission issues them. | Derivatives exchanges, clearing houses, and intermediaries referencing digital assets under the Derivatives Act Buddhist Era 2546 (2003). | Hearing paper อนป 73/2569: the existing company may apply. Eight drafts cover business licensing, a digital-asset application, custody, exchange and clearing licences, two fee notifications, and financial statements. | Section 66 of the Emergency Decree Buddhist Era 2561 (2018), as restated on 24 October 2025: two to five years, 200,000 to 500,000 baht, and up to 10,000 baht a day. |
| United States (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) | Contract-market, clearing, and futures-commission-merchant statuses are in force. Adjusted penalties in 17 CFR 143.8 apply after 15 January 2025. | A futures market, a clearing house for those contracts, and a firm accepting customer futures orders. | Separate statuses under 7 USC section 7, 7 USC section 7a-1, and 7 USC section 6d. | 7 USC section 13a-1(d) sets a manipulation penalty at the greater of 1,000,000 US dollars or triple the gain. 17 CFR 143.8 records 1,487,712 US dollars as the 2025 adjusted district-court maximum assessed after 15 January 2025. |
| Singapore (Monetary Authority of Singapore) | Section 82 of the Securities and Futures Act 2001, consolidation in force from 9 March 2025. Payment Services Act 2019 is separate. | Regulated activity, including dealing in capital markets products such as futures. | Section 82(1) requires a capital markets services licence. A digital payment token permission under the Payment Services Act 2019 is a different permission. | Section 82(3): up to 150,000 Singapore dollars, up to three years’ imprisonment, or both, plus up to 15,000 Singapore dollars a day after conviction for a continuing offence. |
| Hong Kong (Securities and Futures Commission) | Part V of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, Cap 571, is in force. Each regulated activity is its own licence in the Licensing Handbook. | Regulated activity in Hong Kong, including Type 2 dealing in futures contracts under Schedule 5. | Section 114, as described in the Licensing Handbook, requires a licence for the activity carried on, and Type 2 is listed on its own. | On 30 October 2024 the Eastern Magistrates’ Court gave Lai Ka Yi two weeks’ imprisonment and a compensation order of 98,000 Hong Kong dollars under sections 114(1)(b) and 114(8) (SFC release 24PR185). |
Sources: Thai Commission releases of 29 October 2026, 31 August 2026, and 24 October 2025, hearing paper อนป 73/2569, 7 USC sections 7, 7a-1, 6d and 13a-1, 17 CFR 143.8, Singapore Securities and Futures Act 2001 section 82, Payment Services Act 2019, Cap 571 section 114, and SFC release 24PR185, compiled on 1 November 2026.
A single-company application, as the 29 October 2026 release uses that idea, removes an incorporation step and leaves the statuses separate, which is why hearing paper อนป 73/2569 still asks eight questions. A United States spot venue that wants a futures market still needs designation under 7 USC section 7, a clearing organisation under 7 USC section 7a-1, and a futures commission merchant under 7 USC section 6d for customer orders. Singapore’s section 82(1) requires a capital markets services licence per activity, with digital payment token services left in the Payment Services Act 2019, and Hong Kong lists Type 2 under section 114. The route onto a designated contract market shows the American focus on which venue prints the contract, while Thai admission numbers stay inside the draft notifications beside foreign figures such as the 1,487,712 US dollar adjustment in 17 CFR 143.8.
"The expansion of permissible goods and variables under the Derivatives Act aims to support new forms of goods and variables—such as digital assets—allowing them to serve as underlying products and strengthening the position of digital assets as an investment asset class (crypto as an asset class). This development will help promote more inclusive market growth, facilitate diversification and more effective risk management, and expand investment opportunities for a broader range of investors."
— Mrs Pornanong Budsaratragoon, Secretary-General, Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (Commission release of 10 February 2026)
Where unlicensed digital-asset cases sit beside the draft
On 24 October 2025 the Commission and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau raided Worldcoin exchange services, describing a Section 26 breach of the Emergency Decree Buddhist Era 2561 (2018) and restating Section 66 as imprisonment of two to five years, a fine of 200,000 baht to 500,000 baht, and a daily fine of up to 10,000 baht. The 7 October 2026 release records a complaint against As Sure Technology Co Ltd and related persons over order-matching on Vcex.io from 24 December 2021 to 2 September 2022, under Sections 26 and 66 read with Section 83 of the Criminal Code, with access blocking notified for 7 November 2026.
The October drafts invite that exchange to file as itself, while the Emergency Decree licence remains the predicate in complaints and blocking notices, so the Section 66 numbers stay the digital-asset offence and any derivatives-statute fine waits on a later instrument. One company for both perimeters also concentrates client-order access, the conflict the April paper flagged and the same structural worry as the conflicts proposal on exchange-owned futures commission merchants. The 31 August 2026 consultation, closed on 30 September 2026, separately limits retail and high-net-worth access to overseas contracts that match Thai characteristics and trade on a centrally cleared exchange supervised by an International Organization of Securities Commissions Signatory A or a World Federation of Exchanges member.
What the drafts mean for exchanges, intermediaries, and compliance teams
For a licensed exchange the existing company is the applicant, the April paper already expects conflict measures around client orders, and a group that also wants to clear or broker is answering more than one of the eight questions, using the four infrastructure addresses rather than the intermediary pair hathaiphat@sec.or.th and ekarit@sec.or.th. For a broker, dealer, or adviser the lead text is the Kor Thor application for derivatives business related to digital assets, and ekarit@sec.or.th also sits on the August overseas paper, so SECID 1235 and SECID 1201 share part of one address book. The broker-licence test that still governs intermediation and the passivity test in the software introducing-broker relief both turn on customer orders, while Thailand’s form asks whether that activity can sit inside the digital-asset company.
Blocks two and three hold the clearing licence, the fee notifications, and the financial-statement draft, and the custody draft sits on the same ballot for cases where margin resembles custody under the Emergency Decree. Comments close on 28 November 2026, after a principles hearing from April to May 2026, and a useful file will show the existing licensee’s identity plus conflict measures around client orders. The Australian digital-asset licence window and the split between two Dubai licensing regimes are the comparisons for a closing date paired with a second statute.
"This collaboration will enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement in prosecuting and suppressing unlicensed digital asset businesses, while protecting users from lack of legal protection and mitigating risks of scams and money laundering."
— Ms Jomkwan Kongsakul, Deputy Secretary-General, Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (Commission release of 24 October 2025)
What stays open after comments close
Until final notifications issue, legal effect sits with Notification Kor Thor 2/2569 of 5 March 2026 and with the 10 February 2026 Cabinet approval covering licence amendments and contract work with Thailand Futures Exchange Public Company Limited. Comments on SECID 1235 shape who may operate, while specifications stay with that exchange. The principles hearing ran from April to May 2026, the overseas hearing closed on 30 September 2026, and this draft hearing ends on 28 November 2026. Blank edition numbers, conflict measures, the custody boundary, fees, and the accounting standard remain open, and issuing the one-company filing while postponing reporting would leave the investor-protection half of the release unfinished.
TL;DR
The 29 October 2026 release asks for comments on eight draft notifications that would let a digital-asset business apply for a derivatives exchange licence, a clearing-house licence, or an intermediary licence through the company it already operates. The hearing ends on 28 November 2026. Hearing paper อนป 73/2569 at consultation SECID 1235 lists business licensing, a digital-asset derivatives application, a custody draft, exchange and clearing licences, two fee notifications, and financial statements. The package follows Notification Kor Thor 2/2569 of 5 March 2026 and an April-to-May 2026 principles hearing. The Commission’s 24 October 2025 release restates Emergency Decree Section 66 for unlicensed digital-asset business as two to five years and a fine of 200,000 baht to 500,000 baht, plus up to 10,000 baht a day. Exchange, clearing, and intermediation stay separate drafts once the new-company step is removed.
FAQ
What does the 29 October 2026 release propose for corporate form?
A digital-asset operator would apply through the company it already operates for an exchange, a clearing house, and intermediary business referencing digital assets under the Derivatives Act Buddhist Era 2546 (2003). The Commission links that step to unified oversight and to hedging on regulated venues. Comments run until 28 November 2026 on hearing paper อนป 73/2569 at consultation SECID 1235 and on the Legal Hub, and final notifications are what would change the criteria now in force.
Which drafts speak to an intermediary, and which to an exchange?
Intermediary licensing is block one: a licensing amendment, an application for derivatives business related to digital assets, and a draft on services outside digital-asset custody, with comments to hathaiphat@sec.or.th or ekarit@sec.or.th. Exchange and clearing work is blocks two and three: an exchange licence, a clearing-house licence, a fee notification for each, and financial statements for both, with comments to nopnol@sec.or.th, patima@sec.or.th, wasin@sec.or.th, or dusit@sec.or.th. The 29 October 2026 release prints both groups beside the 28 November 2026 close, so the files are already in different inboxes.
How does this hearing relate to the March notification and the August paper?
The 31 August 2026 release says the Board determined cryptocurrencies and digital tokens to be additional underlyings, and its footnote points to Notification Kor Thor 2/2569 dated 5 March 2026. That same August release opens consultation SECID 1201 on overseas digital-asset derivatives, closed on 30 September 2026. The 29 October 2026 release is the domestic licensing package: who may operate an exchange, a clearing house, or an intermediary business, plus fees and accounts. Contract specifications stay, on the August wording, with Thailand Futures Exchange Public Company Limited.
What penalty has the Commission restated for unlicensed digital-asset business?
The 24 October 2025 Worldcoin release restates Section 66 of the Emergency Decree Buddhist Era 2561 (2018). Operating in breach of the Section 26 licence requirement carries imprisonment of two to five years, a fine of 200,000 baht to 500,000 baht, and a daily fine of up to 10,000 baht. The 7 October 2026 release uses Sections 26 and 66 against As Sure Technology Co Ltd and related persons over Vcex.io, and records blocking effective 7 November 2026. Those figures are the digital-asset offence. The October derivatives summary leaves a derivatives-statute fine for a later instrument.
How do the United States and Singapore treat a spot firm that wants futures?
The permissions stay distinct even when one company holds several. A United States futures market needs a contract-market designation under 7 USC section 7, clearing needs section 7a-1, and customer orders need a futures commission merchant under section 6d. Singapore’s section 82(1) requires a capital markets services licence, with section 82(3) allowing up to 150,000 Singapore dollars or three years, or both. A digital payment token permission sits in the Payment Services Act 2019. Thailand would drop the new-company step and still list the three derivatives statuses as separate drafts.
Where do comments go, and who is named on the form?
Comments are due on 28 November 2026 via consultation SECID 1235, the Legal Hub link in the 29 October 2026 release, or email. For derivatives-business licensing the form names นางสาวหทัยภัทร ชำนาญเมือง at hathaiphat@sec.or.th, 0-2033-9756, and นายเอกฤทธิ์ ศิริกันทรมาศ at ekarit@sec.or.th, 0-2263-6509. For infrastructures it names นายนพนล สนิทประชากร at nopnol@sec.or.th, 0-2263-6052, นางสาวปฏิมา ประจักษ์จิตต์ at patima@sec.or.th, 0-2263-6560, นายวศิน สีดอกบวบ at wasin@sec.or.th, 0-2263-6561, and นายดุสิต อิชยพฤกษ์ at dusit@sec.or.th, 0-2263-6203. The press line, press@sec.or.th at (66) 2033-9502-5, is separate, and the form also asks for occupation and other observations.
This article is informational analysis only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax, or investment advice. Regulatory frameworks change frequently and interpretation depends on facts and circumstances; primary documents and official regulator guidance always supersede summaries. Firms should consult qualified legal counsel and their relevant supervisory authority before taking any action based on the analysis above.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 1 November 2026, 10:53 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
