Thailand Expects to Approve Five ICO Projects out of 50

The Thai financial regulator is expected to approve five ICO projects once the new regulatory framework takes effect this month. Out of 50 ICO projects in the country, only five satisfy the registration requirements set out by the regulator this week.

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Five ICO Projects Expected to be Approved

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve five initial coin offering (ICO) projects once the law to regulate cryptocurrencies and ICOs goes into effect, according to the Bangkok Post. The Commission approved the relevant regulations earlier this week and expects them to become law by the end of the month, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported.

While the SEC has not revealed which ICO projects will be approved, Mr. Thawatchai Kiatkwankul, the Commission’s director of corporate finance in the equity department, was quoted by the news outlet:

Out of 50 ICO projects expecting to raise funds from the Thai capital market, five are ready as initial pilot projects.

The announcement follows two recently launched ICOs in Thailand: Jfin Coin by Jay Mart Plc’s subsidiary, J Ventures Limited, and ZMN tokens by Zmine Holdings.

New ICOs Expected in Q3

Before the law takes effect, the regulator has put the brakes on all new ICOs. However, “Previously-leveraged companies are still able to make transactions as normal since the law does not apply retroactively,” Krungthep Turakij explained.

Mrs. Tipsuda Thavaramara, Deputy Secretary-General of the Thai SEC in charge of Policy and Corporate Finance Groups, said this week that an ICO issuer must first gain approval from the ICO portal it wants to be listed on, Prachachat Turakij described. ICO portals will act like financial advisors to the issuers, making sure that all know-your-customer (KYC) rules are followed. After gaining the approval of the ICO portal, the SEC will take about two months to review the ICO before approving it.

Companies wanting to issue tokens must satisfy a number of criteria set by the SEC. For starters, they must have registered capital of at least 5 million baht (~US$156,625).

Retail investors can only invest up to 300,000 baht (~$9,343) per ICO project or no more than 70% of the total value of offered tokens, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported. The limits do not exist for institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors.

Thai SEC’s Future Plans for ICOs

Mr. Thawatchai Kiatkwankul added that in the future the Commission “is preparing to expand and combine its unit for registration of ICOs with initial public offerings (IPOs),” the Bangkok Post conveyed. Citing that ICO projects have growth potential, he further noted that the SEC will work with ICO portals to screen potential scams.

The publication elaborated, with reference to the director:

Rules and regulations related to digital asset investment and transactions could be eased, given that market participants are more educated on digital asset investment and domestic competition is on a par with other digital asset markets.

What do you think of Thailand’s policies on ICOs? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Thai SEC.

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