In a move considered as a positive step for ICO’s and cryptocurrencies, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved an initial coin offering (ICO) portal to operate in the country.
The portal is going to focus on screening and analyzing ICOs, which will help eliminate any offerings that seem dubious. To achieve this objective, the portal will take regulatory steps from the moment a firm or individual intends to start an ICO.
What Steps is the Thai SEC Going to Take?
These steps will include assessing the products being offered, verifying smart contract source codes, and performing background checks such as know-your-customer (KYC).
The financial watchdog aims to provide investors with a more streamlined approach to allocate their funds. The regulatory process is meant to weed out bad actors. This minimizes the risks that are typically associated with new cryptocurrency investments.
How was the ICO Portal Finalized?
While the ICO portal was approved by the Thai SEC, it is operated by a third party vendor from another country.
To make sure that the regulatory efforts are present across the board, the Thai SEC is utilizing inter-departmental communication. The agency is collaborating with the Commerce Ministry to ensure that the ICO portal is approved by the main financial authority of the country.
Once the official approval goes into effect, the ICO portal will see widespread adoption by all relevant agencies.
The ICO Portal Will Not Handle Security Token Offerings
For STO’s, the Thai SEC is currently developing a separate framework.
Tokenized assets such as real estate are gaining popularity in digital asset investment, which is why the SEC is seeking to bring a regulatory framework to this sector soon. For now, the timeline for this is still undefined.
There was no deadline provided for the ICO portal’s first project offering either. Speaking to the press, Archari Suppiroj, director of the fintech department at the Thai SEC, mentioned that the first ICO deal may be available “in the near future”.
