SEC schedules listening to for cryptocurrency buying and selling
Transfer to evaluate danger tolerance of buyers
The Securities and Change Fee (SEC) is conducting a public listening to this month to find out {qualifications} for buyers desirous to open a cryptocurrency buying and selling account.
New buyers are flocking to the cryptocurrency market, says SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol.
The {qualifications} for cryptocurrency merchants are to make sure new retail buyers opening crypto buying and selling accounts have ample monetary buffers to soak up danger from unstable value swings.
The SEC’s issues over buyers’ monetary security rose following the surge in cryptocurrency costs through the previous few months and the fast enhance within the variety of new accounts on native digital exchanges and intermediaries.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith requested the SEC to oversee the native digital exchanges to guard new buyers who joined the market hoping for outsized good points, with little information or expertise of that wherein they’re investing.
Retail buyers’ internet shopping for of digital property has grown from 500 million baht in November and 1.1 billion in December final yr to 1.2 billion in January. Purchases of digital property tallied 400 million baht in solely the primary eight days of February, based on the SEC’s weekly report on digital property.
The regulator reported the variety of new buyers rose by 124,000 accounts throughout the first week of this month, totalling 594,000 accounts as of Feb 8.
The whole buying and selling worth of native cryptocurrency exchanges from Jan 1 to Feb 8 was 130 billion baht.
Bitcoin is essentially the most traded cryptocoin and contributed 40.3% or 38.9 billion of complete buying and selling quantity, adopted by ethereum (23.5 billion baht or 24.3%), dogecoin (18.2 billion or 18.8%) and XRP (12.3 billion or 12.6%).
High returns amongst asset courses from Jan 1 to Feb 8 had been ethereum (145%), adopted by XRP (118%), bitcoin (59.6%), MSCI rising market (9.13%), MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index (8.08%), Nasdaq (6.20%), SET (4.96%), MSCI World Index (4.03%), the US authorities’s 10-year bond (1.16%) and gold (-2.88%).
“Cryptocurrencies have excessive dangers for buyers. We must always set some screening standards akin to age, buying and selling expertise and degree of income or wealth to restrict dangers. These limits exist already for high-yield bonds, that are solely obtainable to some kinds of buyers,” Ms Ruenvadee mentioned.
She mentioned cryptocurrency merchants ought to have monetary information, buying and selling expertise and monetary standing. They need to be each “well-informed and well-off”, with expertise in funding and a sure degree of wealth to steadiness the excessive danger of those property.
“Digital property are an enormous problem, not solely in Thailand however for international regulators,” mentioned Ms Ruenvadee.
The SEC is regulating two key areas of issues: market growth and investor safety.
Suppakrit Boonsat, president of the Thai Digital Asset Affiliation, mentioned expertise is the perfect trainer. The regulator’s position needs to be to assist buyers stand on their toes, and supply a cushion to help them after they fall, he mentioned.
Sooner or later, digital tokens are to be issued based mostly on bodily property, or via a securities token providing (STO). STO and utility tokens that aren’t readily exchangeable with services shall be regulated beneath the Securities and Change Act, whereas cryptocurrencies and ready-to-use utility tokens will stay beneath the Digital Belongings Decree.
