Thailand Eyes Spot Bitcoin ETFs as Polymarket Faces Ban Over Crypto Betting

• Thailand’s SEC explores spot Bitcoin ETFs to enhance investor options in the crypto space.
• Polymarket may face a ban in Thailand for violating local online gambling laws using cryptocurrency.
• As of November 2024, active crypto trading accounts in Thailand doubled to 270,000 from the previous year.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into permitting local exchanges to list spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It comes amid the increasing use of cryptocurrencies worldwide, with Thailand’s financial regulators seeking to expand choices for individual and professional investors.

The move aims to address the growing market need for cryptocurrency products and services without compromising investors’ risk management, said SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon.

Pornanong pointed out that Thailand needs to catch up with the rest of the world in the use of cryptocurrency. At the moment the SEC is working on determining whether or not such financial instruments are permissible in the country. Thailand is slowly changing its approach to the growing cryptocurrency market, and this proposed move is a clear indication of the country embracing the growing investors in the cryptos.

As of June 2024, One Asset Management in Thailand introduced a fund of funds that provides investment in overseas spot Bitcoin ETFs, but the local ETFs are not yet available in the market. The current assessment is to assess the possibility of permitting direct Bitcoin ETF trading on the US market. This could create new opportunities for investors and expand Thailand’s position in the global cryptocurrency market.

Nevertheless, the opportunities for the expansion of crypto investment products are possible, the Thai cybercrime authorities are set to crack down on crypto-gambling. The country’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) has brought an application before the courts to block access to Polymarket, an open platform for prediction markets based on blockchain that uses cryptocurrencies to enable users to bet on various events worldwide. The Thai authorities claim that this platform works as an online gambling site since cryptocurrency is used for betting, which makes it difficult to intercept.

The Polymarket platform is currently restricted in other states, such as Singapore, Taiwan, and France, as the authorities have applied the same measures. The Thai authorities are worried about the consequences of crypto gambling, especially the inability to track the funds and check their misuse. This, however, is still a proposal, and the fact that it is related to the shutdown of Polymarket shows the regulation problem regarding the use of cryptocurrencies in some industries.