Thailand's Central Bank and SEC Launch Joint Audit on High-Volume Stablecoin Trading, Focusing on Tether USDT
The Bank of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission have initiated a joint audit on high-volume stablecoin trading, focusing on Tether USDT, to combat the gray economy and concealment of ownership.
Regulators are particularly examining unusual high-volume USDT trading patterns, with some findings referred to the SEC for potential disciplinary action. Data from January this year indicated that about 40% of local USDT sellers are foreigners.
In the market mechanism, increased compliance friction has led traders to turn to regulated channels or reduce local on/off-ramp activities. Event-driven capital is flowing towards more transparent platforms, while gray market participants relying on USDT are under pressure, affecting Tether's liquidity in the short term.
Source: Public Information
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The Bank of Thailand has previously implemented due diligence on large cash withdrawals, with a 35% decrease in withdrawals over 5 million baht since April this year. Governor Vitai Ratanakorn continues to push for governance of the gray economy, expanding reviews to the digital asset sector.
On the capital front, regulators are mobilizing audit resources in collaboration with the SEC, planning to require proof of source of funds for cash deposits over 5 million baht in Q4. The motivation is to reduce cross-border money laundering and remittance evasion behaviors by enhancing transparency, while also protecting the stability of the local financial system.
Similar to cases in many countries globally strengthening KYC and source checks on stablecoins, Thailand is currently transitioning from a lenient to a strict compliance regulatory phase for crypto.
This is essentially a regulatory change: digital assets are converging with traditional banking rules, with the mechanism being that high-volume USDT trading exposes risks of ownership opacity, prompting capital to withdraw from gray channels towards regulated compliant infrastructure to reduce systemic money laundering exposure.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Regulators chase capital flows; transparency is the new liquidity threshold.
The higher the gray profit, the heavier the audit leverage; compliance is the long-term pathway.
Stablecoins are borderless, but regulation has borders; friction determines capital's destination.