Thailand seeks $148,000 daily cap on certain stablecoin transfers to curb money laundering
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking public comments on a draft notification that would limit stablecoin transfers to crack down on money laundering.The proposal, announced Thursday, would limit individual customers' withdrawals and deposits on regulated digital asset venues to 5 million baht (approximately $147,750) per operator, in either direction, per day. The draft regulation follows a public hearing in September on supervising stablecoin activity through licensed operators.Beyond the amount limit, the draft rules require that stablecoins be transferred only between accounts or wallets belonging to the same person and prohibit transfers involving another person's wallets. However, the rules do not cover pure peer-to-peer, onchain transactions outside of registered platforms.The agency would also require operators to comply with the Travel Rule by conducting customer profiling and screening, and use blockchain analytics tools to identify links to high-risk or watchlisted wallets.“The value of stablecoins transferred into and out of a customer’s account must be commensurate with the customer’s source of income and financial position," the SEC stated.Meanwhile, certain transfers would be exempt from the 5 million baht limit, such as movements between a customer’s own accounts on platforms under the SEC’s supervision, transfers by operators themselves for business purposes, stablecoin market-maker activity, and specific transactions related to digital token offerings and refunds. Certain activities approved by the Bank of Thailand will also be exempt from the limit.These draft rules aim to prevent digital assets from being used for money laundering, cybercrime, or circumventing rules on international money transfers, the SEC stated.Stricter requirementsThe draft also introduces additional measures. Crypto exchanges would be required to disclose the names of their market makers and the assets for which they provide liquidity, along with enhanced screening of those firms.Furthermore, brokers would be barred from using liquidity providers for stablecoin-baht trading pairs. Off-platform transactions by brokers and dealers would be subject to a minimum threshold of 3 million baht ($88,528), and operators would have to disclose the trading prices for such deals.The SEC is currently seeking public comments on the draft notification, with Nov. 26 as the deadline.The requirement builds on steps Thai authorities had already taken. The country’s central bank and securities regulator had reportedly started using data analytics to scrutinize unusual USDT trading, as part of a wider push to close gaps that enable money laundering and other “grey economy” activity.