Thailand SEC to apply strict guidelines for crypto ads

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will implement strict advertising rules for cryptocurrency firms operating in the country by October 2022.

The Thai SEC informed cryptocurrency-related businesses operating in the country via email that advertisements regarding digital currencies must have clear investment warnings to consumers on September 1. The statement was later posted on the SEC website.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced the new standards for cryptocurrency-related advertisements in response to a number of marketing campaigns that have failed to include warnings about investment risks.

The new standards will require ads to not contain false, misleading or exaggerated claims and include warnings about investment risks. The correspondence from the SEC also requires balanced advertising, which will involve including potential positive and negative factors related to the products or services being marketed.

Companies will have to limit advertising that directly promotes cryptocurrency to “official channels” such as their own websites and will be required to hand over details of ads and spending, including the use of social media influencers and bloggers and their terms, to the SEC.

Related: Strict Thai crypto regulations prompt SCB to delay Bitkub acquisition

Prominent cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bitkub and Zipmex have advertisements on large street posters and in public transport hubs, promoting their mobile applications and services to potential users in the country. Advertising of services is still allowed in public spaces according to the SEC’s directive.

Companies have been given one month to comply with the new requirements as the SEC continues to establish frameworks positioned to protect retail investors in the country. This will include updating or changing existing ads across print, online and physical platforms.

The SEC further noted that the move was in line with regulatory standards set in other countries such as the UK, Singapore and Spain, which had previously introduced stricter guidelines for cryptocurrency-related advertising.

August 2022 was a busy month for the Thai SEC as it granted licenses to four new cryptocurrency-related businesses to operate. The regulator also put Bitkub under scrutiny, fining the firm’s chief technology officer Samret Wajanasathian for alleged insider trading in its KUB token ahead of a lucrative investment deal with Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank.