The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has collaborated with the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO) and digital asset businesses to establish a new industry standard aimed at combating digital asset mule accounts.
This standard emerged from discussions with various agencies, including the Bank of Thailand, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, Central Investigation Bureau, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, and the Thai Bankers’ Association, focused on preventing the use of digital assets for money laundering by criminal organizations.
The objective of the new standard is to intercept new mule accounts, identify unusual customer behavior, investigate and take action against digital asset trading accounts deemed to be mule accounts, and enhance information sharing between the banking sector and relevant agencies regarding these accounts, as stated by the regulator.
Anek Yooyuen, deputy secretary-general of the SEC, remarked that with the rise of technology-related crimes harming people’s assets, the regulator has worked with relevant agencies to develop measures and establish industry standards to prevent the transfer of victims’ funds into digital assets through mule accounts.
These measures are set to be enforced starting in late March, creating the new standard for Thailand’s digital asset industry, according to the regulator.
The SEC plans to work with TDO to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these measures, added Mr. Yooyuen.
Jomkwan Kongsakul, another deputy secretary-general of the SEC, noted that the regulator has also put in place measures to prevent investment fraud. This includes issuing warnings, educating the public about investment fraud, and coordinating with relevant agencies to shut down social media accounts involved in fraudulent investment activities.
According to the SEC, the global market value of digital assets shrank by 23.2% in February compared to the previous month, totaling US$2.78 trillion, with Bitcoin making up 60.2% of this figure, followed by Ethereum at 9.71% and USDT at 5.11%.
Trading volume experienced a significant bump, rising by 73.4% from the prior month to $18.3 billion.
In Thailand, the digital asset market was valued at 77 billion baht in February, reflecting a 22.6% decrease from January, with daily transaction volumes dropping to 2.28 billion baht.
The SEC reported that the number of active accounts last month was 174,000, representing a 13.2% decline from January.
