No New Company Required: Thailand SEC Proposes to Allow Digital Asset Operators to Apply for Derivatives Licenses

Odaily reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand announced on October 29 that it has opened public consultation on a series of draft notifications amending the derivatives business licensing framework, covering derivatives exchanges, clearing houses, and intermediary businesses, and proposing to include digital assets within the scope of underlying assets recognized under the Derivatives Act. Under the proposal, digital asset operators would be able to apply for derivatives business licenses without establishing a new company, and could engage in derivatives brokerage, proprietary trading, investment advisory, and investment management businesses, with a license fee of 500,000 baht; existing digital asset exchanges, brokers, and dealers would be exempt from application fees and license fees. Among digital asset operators, only exchanges and brokers may apply to operate derivatives exchanges, and digital asset custodians may not apply for clearing house licenses.