Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new regulatory framework on September 2 designed to tighten oversight of cryptocurrency transactions. The "Travel Rule for Digital Assets" (TRDA) will require licensed crypto platforms to enhance their anti-money laundering procedures starting February 27, 2027.
Under the new guidelines, crypto exchanges must identify customers and their transaction counterparties, including the beneficial owners of self-hosted wallets. Platforms will be required to collect and retain information on senders and beneficiaries for each digital asset transaction, maintaining records for at least five years to enable regulatory review.
The SEC stated that the framework aims to ensure crypto business operators have sufficient information to assess and manage money laundering risks in line with international standards. The regulator also emphasized that the rules will help prevent misuse of crypto platforms for money laundering and related criminal activities.
The SEC noted that the remainder of 2026 provides adequate time for industry participants to develop compliant systems ahead of the February 2027 implementation date.
Global Regulatory Trend
Thailand's move reflects a broader international push toward crypto regulation. Most countries without existing frameworks are either codifying crypto rules or developing them, often to address concerns raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog.
Regulators worldwide have struggled to monitor peer-to-peer transfers and decentralized finance transactions from self-custodial wallets. Many jurisdictions have adopted similar approaches by implementing controls at crypto exchange cashout points, effectively creating regulatory checkpoints for anti-money laundering enforcement.
The European Union has announced comparable crypto anti-money laundering measures planned for mid-2027, while South Africa has already activated strict exchange capital controls tied to crypto transactions.
