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Thailand: Extraterritorial Application of Digital Asset Law on Offshore Digital Asset Businesses
Thailand | Publication | April 2025
Recent regulatory developments have clarified what constitutes solicitation in Thailand for offshore digital asset business operators under Thailand’s Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018) (Digital Asset Decree). Previously, definitive guidelines were lacking.
On 12 April 2025, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published an amendment to the Digital Asset Decree (Amendment). The Amendment extends the territorial scope of the Digital Asset Decree to apply to offshore digital asset business operators that provide services to users in Thailand, provided they meet specified solicitation criteria. In such cases, these operators must obtain the relevant licence(s) from the SEC to lawfully operate in Thailand.
The criteria for solicitation in Thailand include:
- Displaying any content in the Thai language
- Registering a domain name containing “.th,” “.Thai,” or any name that refers to Thailand, the Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Thailand, or using a Thai-language domain name
- Requiring or offering users the option to make payments in Thai Baht, or accepting payments via bank accounts or electronic wallets in Thailand
- Specifying in the terms of service that Thai law shall apply for transactions, or that disputes must be resolved in Thai courts
- Paying for online search engines to attract users in Thailand
- Having an office, agency, or personnel established to support or assist users in Thailand
- Having any other characteristics prescribed by the SEC.
In addition, an amendment to the Royal Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes B.E. 2566 (2023), published on the same day, grants the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society the authority to block websites and applications of unlicensed offshore digital asset business operators.
The Amendment took effect on 13 April 2025. In light of the licensing requirements and the potential sanction of unlicensed websites and applications being blocked by the authority, offshore digital asset business operators providing services to users in Thailand should promptly assess whether their activities fall within the scope of the Digital Asset Decree and whether they are required to obtain the relevant licence(s) from the SEC.
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