Thailand may permit listing of bitcoin exchange-traded funds as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to adapt to rising global demand for cryptocurrencies, Pornanong Budsaratragoon, head of the local securities regulator, says in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Like it or not, we have to move along with more adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide,” the secretary general of Securities Exchange Commission Thailand (SEC) is quoted as saying in the interview published on January 16.
“We have to adapt and ensure that our investors have more options in crypto assets with proper protection,” she says.
According to SEC data, there were about 270,000 active crypto trading accounts in Thailand as of November 30. There no cryptocurrency ETFs in the country at present though there is one fund that invests in them.
Many Asian jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, have established policies for digital assets, spurred by rising demand and adoption of these assets.
In the US, President-elect Donald Trump said during his election campaign that he intends to make the US the world’s cryptocurrency capital.
Pornanong also says the SEC will consider allowing local firms with strong credit ratings to issue new stablecoins backed by their own bonds in the hope of widening access to corporate debt markets and lowering costs.
SEC spokespersons did not immediately respond to questions from Asia Asset Management.