The Securities and Exchange Commission in Thailand (SEC Thailand) has announced that it is supporting the drafting and implementation of regulations covering initial coin offerings (ICO). The commission claimed that this is necessary as some coin sales may be considered as a securities offering under the country’s laws.
Tokens only facilitate fraud against unwitting investorsAccording to SEC Thailand, some ICOs may be considered as financial returns, rights and obligations, thus, should be subjected to existing regulations that cover them.
The agency also warned that some token sales are only meant to facilitate fraud against unwitting investors.
However, the SEC showed that it is willing to support ICOs, as well as the creation of laws to regulate them.
Part of the agency’s statement reads:
"The SEC Thailand encourages access to funding for businesses, including high potential tech startups, and realizes the potential of ICO in answering startups' funding needs. In cases where an ICO constitutes offering of securities, the issuer will need to comply with applicable regulatory requirements under the SEC Thailand's purview."
The statement further adds:
"...to strike a balance between supporting digital innovation and protecting investors from potential ICO scams, the SEC Thailand is considering appropriate approaches on ICO and welcomes comments and suggestions from the private sector.”
Positions of other countries on ICOsSeveral securities regulators worldwide have also issued their positions on ICOs in the previous weeks. In Canada, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) claimed that many of the virtual currencies probed by regulators fall under the definition of a security and should be subject to a range of legal requirements.
In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued an advisory, advising prospective investors to investigate and determine the risks when participating in token sales.
In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has claimed that the sale and issuance of digital tokens should be subjected to the country’s federal securities law.
Such moves should not be confused with governments having the ability to ban Bitcoin since they are mainly targeting companies looking to raise money from their self-created tokens.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/thai-securities-and-exchange-commission-supports-creation-of-ico-laws
