Thailand has run a dedicated code since the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses of 2018: exchanges, brokers, dealers, custodians, and ICO portals are licensed by the SEC, with listing rules, custody standards, and advertising controls layered on since. The Bank of Thailand separately bars using digital assets as a means of payment. Recent policy has moved in two directions at once. Against fraud, 2025 amendments effective in April targeted foreign platforms serving Thai users and money-mule accounts, giving regulators blocking powers and adding liability for facilitating scams, with major unlicensed platforms blocked.
Toward growth, the cabinet approved a five-year exemption of capital gains tax on crypto sales made through licensed operators, running 2025 through 2029, the government issued its G-Token digital savings instrument, and a tourism sandbox lets visitors convert crypto to baht through licensed intermediaries. The combination, strict licensing plus tax advantage for staying inside it, is Thailand's explicit strategy for pulling volume onshore.
The instruments
Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561
Licensing for digital asset exchanges, brokers, dealers, advisers, fund managers, and custodians; ICO offerings through approved portals; SEC supervision of listing, custody, and conduct. 2025 amendments add blocking powers over foreign platforms soliciting Thai users and liability for mule-account facilitation.
Capital gains exemption for licensed-platform sales
Exempts personal capital gains on crypto sold through SEC-licensed operators for five years, pairing tax advantage with the licensing perimeter to repatriate trading volume.