Thailand’s SEC Mandates Risk Disclosure for Crypto Ads

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought strict rules around the promotions and advertising of cryptocurrency companies, primarily to minimize investment risks.

As reported by Reuters, the new advertising rules mandated the showcasing of investment risks. Additionally, crypto companies need to provide a balanced view between risks and returns. Further, the companies need to provide information on advertising terms to the regulator.

“Operators must give details of ads and spending including the use of influencers and bloggers to the SEC including terms and time frame,” the Thai SEC stated in its Thursday announcement.

All the local companies offering crypto services and promoting services have 30 days to comply with the new rules.

Thailand is one of the major economies of Southeast Asia and is also growing at a solid pace. It is also a lucrative market due to high retail demand. On top of that, the report outlined that Thai crypto companies run aggressive campaigns on both digital platforms and billboards across the country’s capital Bangkok.

However, Thailand is not the first country to bring regulations around crypto advertisements. The UK earlier warned and took down the campaigns of several crypto companies and even a popular football club, Arsenal, for inadequate disclosure and misleading ads.

Crypto Crackdown in Thailand?

Meanwhile, the Thai authorities are cracking down on the lapses of the local cryptocurrency industry. Recently, the SEC fined Samret Wajanasathian, an executive of a Bitkub subsidiary, 8.5 million baht (around $234,000, for allegations of insider trading. However, Wajanasathian is going to appeal against the order.

Furthermore, the Thai crypto sector is witnessing the effects of industry-wide turmoil. Local banking giant, SCB, recently backtracked from acquiring a controlling state at Bitkub, citing pending regulatory issues. As well as that, another major crypto exchange in the country, Zipmex, was fined 1.92 million baht for suspending withdrawals.