The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has granted permission to financial institutions, including commercial banks, and their subsidiaries to issue, buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The announcement follows the country’s crypto regulatory framework that came into effect last month.
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However, the new circular does not lift the previous ban on trading cryptocurrencies, which means that the banks cannot make any form of cryptocurrency transaction for their customers.
As per the new circular, the commercial banks and financial institutions and asset managers, brokerages, insurance firms can invest in cryptocurrencies. They can also issue digital tokens as per the rules laid down by the circular.
The new rules state that the subsidiaries of the financial companies need to obtain permission from their respective regulatory body such as the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for brokers or the Thai Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) for insurance companies.
New subsidiaries, which are formed to engage in crypto investments, will have to apply for approval from the BoT through their parent companies. Applications will be scrutinised on a case-by-case basis.
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By GlobalDataThe parent companies will be accountable for supervising and managing the overall risks associated with the proposed crypto activities at its subsidiaries.
They will have to comply with regulatory guidelines such as anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), IT security, among others.
