According to a Friday announcement, Thai authorities have chosen to restrict “unauthorised” cryptocurrency sites in an effort to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement in combating internet crime.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand was directed to furnish the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society with information about unapproved digital asset service providers in order to prevent access to the platforms, following a meeting of the Technology Crime Prevention and Suppression Committee.
The notice stated that the SEC has taken into account the impact on consumers and will allow them time to adjust their accounts before denying them access to the service.
The notice stated, “Therefore, the SEC requests users of the said platform to quickly withdraw their assets from the platform.” The Thai SEC also referenced other rulings against unapproved platforms made by countries such as the Philippines and India.
Thailand’s authorities have been working to strike a compromise between safeguarding the cryptocurrency industry and avoiding fraud. While it has made it possible for retail investors to invest limitlessly in digital tokens backed by real estate or infrastructure and for institutional and extremely wealthy individuals to invest in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it has also stated that custodians must have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.