Thai’s securities regulator will allow the first ICO portal to function from this December according to local news reports.
December 21, 2018 | AtoZ Markets - Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is reportedly planning a public hearing as it is poised to reduce impediments for the issuers of initial coin offerings (ICO) so they operate legally for the first time in the country. This development was first reported by Bangkok Post, a local English-language news outlet.
Thailand's SEC Plans to Loosen Up its Stance on ICO
According to the digital asset royal decree, it is stipulated that the issuance and sales of digital tokens must receive the approval of the regulator and this must be made available through a digital token service provider.
Meanwhile, the existing laws on regulating the domestic cryptocurrency markets are barriers for ICO fundraising, hence, the SEC plans to loosen up its stance on on pre-sales and private token sales in a bid to attract more investment in the sector. The deputy secretary-general of SEC, Tipsuda Thavaramara has been quoted as saying:
"The proposed guideline is an attempt to find greater equilibrium in the regulatory process and reduce regulatory impediments, while taking risk management and investor protection into account...The proposed criteria may not be fully completed, but it is a starting point for businesses to proceed accordingly."
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The SEC has also divulged plans to prevent the exploitation of token sales since they come with high risks and uncertainties. The news outlet further stated:
To prevent exploiting investment opportunities during public ICOs, the SEC plans to require all ICO issuers to distribute all digital tokens to every investor group at the same time after public ICOs end. Digital tokens receiving a discount or bonus will have a lock-up period of six months starting from the first day of digital token distribution.
Get Licensed to Operate Legally
Thailand's royal decree on digital assets has been in effect since May 14 2018, thus putting the country's security watchdog in charge of regulating all crypto-related activities and ICOs. The commission also requires crypto exchanges, brokers and dealers to be licensed so as to operate legally in the country.
At the moment, only six exchanges and one dealer have received temporary licenses. However, no ICO portal has been certified. The SEC secretary general, Rapee Sucharitakul had previously stated that an ICO portal was likely to be certified in November. Nevertheless, after evaluation, the regulator reportedly said that the first authorized ICO portal will likely emerge this month.
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