BTC Wires: According to reports in the Bangkok Post, the
BTC Wires: According to reports in the Bangkok Post, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has noted an increased enthusiasm to operate ICOs or initial coin offerings. This comes in the aftermath of an announcement by the Finance Ministry in which they introduced ICO regulations in the country.
Rapee Sucharitakul, the Secretary General of the SEC, remarked that about fifty ICO projects have already stepped up to get certification and raise funds although it is still uncertain as to how many of them will receive the requisite credentials to do so. He further noted that about 60 percent of enthusiastic ICO portals had already filed their license applications with the SEC. Besides these firms, about 20 companies had also sought authorization for businesses serving as exchanges for virtual assets.
The Secretary General said that the license applications were undergoing evaluation and review for application. He also noted that most firms willing to start digital asset exchanges were quite happy with the level of trading in virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.
Usually, the process of authorization takes up to 5 months to be completed. Upon receiving an application, the SEC forwards the request to the Finance Ministry within the stipulated period of 90 days. After this, the Ministry must take a maximum of 60 days to approve or reject the licensing request. The criteria for a company seeking license are that it should be Thailand-based, should have a registered paid-up capital and have a stable financial condition.
Thailand has been quite positive in terms of introducing regulations for the crypto and blockchain industries. Last week, the Bank of England gave the green signal to local banks to create subsidiaries that would deal in digital currencies. The local banks are now entitled to issuing virtual tokens, offer service in crypto brokering, invest in cryptocurrency firms via subsidiary bodies and so on. Last month, the Thai Bond Market Association (TBMA) had also announced that it would make use of a solution based in blockchain to enhance its registrar service platform. This is meant to speed up issuing of bond certificates and consequently improve the liquidity of the secondary market. This solution is expected to speed up the process from a time period ranging up to a fortnight, to just 3-4 days.