Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved rules allowing locally listed exchange-traded funds that hold Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rules take effect on October 16. The regulator announced 11 notifications in news release No. 216/2026, following two rounds of public hearings this year.
The same rules restrict access to foreign crypto ETFs. During an initial phase, the SEC will not allow depositary receipts tied to foreign crypto ETFs. It will also bar securities companies from helping most clients invest in those funds.
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund whose units trade on a stock exchange like shares. The release sets the conditions for launching crypto ETFs. It does not name any asset management company that has applied to launch one.
Which Assets Crypto ETFs Can Hold
According to the release, a crypto ETF must be a passive fund that tracks the price of the crypto asset it invests in. Over each accounting year, it must keep average net exposure to a single crypto asset of at least 80% of net asset value.
The SEC said it will set the list of eligible assets based on liquidity, broad market acceptance, network security, and investor protection. In the initial stage, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the only eligible assets, according to the release and Notification Sor Nor. 15/2569, which sets the list.
An asset management company seeking to launch a crypto ETF must show adequate staffing, operational systems, and arrangements with service providers. It may outsource digital asset investment management only to a licensed digital asset fund manager.
Custody and Fund Supervisors
Crypto ETF assets must be held only by digital asset custodians regulated by the SEC, the release states. The SEC said it may in future allow qualified foreign digital asset custodians when it considers this necessary and appropriate.
Digital asset custodians and other digital asset business operators may now apply to register as mutual fund supervisors under Section 121 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992). A mutual fund supervisor oversees a fund on behalf of its investors. Operators registered under this route may supervise only crypto ETFs and must meet requirements on financial standing, personnel, and systems, according to Notification Sor Nor. 19/2569.
A supervisor may appoint a sub-custodian. Under the rules, however, the digital assets themselves must be held by a licensed digital asset custodian, whether the supervisor holds them directly or through a sub-custodian.
Investor Protection and the Margin Loan Ban
Crypto ETFs will be listed and traded only on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Before trading, investors must go through investor education on the product’s features and risks, and must confirm that they understand those risks.
Securities companies offering crypto ETF trading must also stress asset allocation to clients. That includes avoiding concentrated holdings in digital assets and matching investments to each client’s risk tolerance.
Securities companies may not provide margin loans to buy crypto ETFs under Notification Tor Thor. 23/2569. The SEC said this matches its existing approach to digital asset exchanges, where lending to buy crypto is not permitted.
How the Rules Change Access to Foreign Crypto ETFs
Before the new rules, Thai mutual funds and private funds could invest in crypto ETFs only if those funds were listed abroad. The SEC has amended its rules so that they may also invest in Thai crypto ETFs, subject to existing investment limits.
In the initial phase, the SEC will not allow the issuance, establishment, or sale of products linked to foreign crypto ETFs. The release gives depositary receipts referencing foreign crypto ETFs as an example. A depositary receipt is a locally traded certificate that represents shares of a security listed elsewhere.
The SEC will also not allow securities companies to help clients invest in foreign crypto ETFs unless those clients are institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth investors. The rules for brokers serving clients in foreign-currency products are set out in Notification Tor Thor. 21/2569.
The release says these limits are meant to support the development of local crypto ETFs and to strengthen Thai business operators. It does not say how long the initial phase will last.
How the Rules Were Developed
In January, Thailand’s SEC said it had approved crypto ETFs in principle and was finalizing their operating rules, The Crypto Times reported. The SEC held public hearings on the proposed principles in April and May 2026 and on the draft notifications in August and September 2026. The release states that most respondents supported both.
The 11 notifications are made up of five from the Capital Market Supervisory Board and six from the Office of the SEC. They cover fund establishment, fund investment rules, services for foreign-currency products, outsourcing, margin loans, prospectus requirements, and fund supervisor registration.
Also Read: CFTC Opens Door to More Perpetual Futures in U.S. Crypto Markets
