Thailand SEC Proposes Daily Stablecoin Transfer Cap of 151,000 USD for Outside Wallets

Thailand’s securities regulator wants a hard daily ceiling on stablecoin transfers to outside wallets

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed limiting inbound and outbound stablecoin transfers involving external wallets to five million baht — roughly 151,000 USD at current exchange rates — per customer, per operator, per day. The consultation, published Sept. 11, is the country’s most aggressive attempt yet to fence regulated stablecoin activity inside its licensing perimeter, and stakeholders have until Sept. 25 to submit comments.

The rules are not yet in force. If adopted as proposed, requirements would begin sixty days after finalization. The Thai SEC says the measures target money laundering, cybercrime and attempts to bypass controls governing international money transfers — the same concerns driving stablecoin crackdowns from the European Union to Japan.

Third-party wallet transfers would be blocked outright

The core restriction goes beyond the daily cap. Licensed digital asset operators in Thailand could accept stablecoin deposits only from an account or wallet verified as belonging to their own customer, and withdrawals would need to go to another wallet verified under the same customer’s name.

In practical terms, sending stablecoins from another person’s wallet into a customer’s exchange account would be prohibited. A customer could not withdraw stablecoins from a regulated operator directly to a friend’s, a family member’s or an OTC counterparty’s wallet. The restriction covers transfers involving foreign digital asset operators and private self-custodial wallets alike, and Thai businesses would need documented procedures for verifying wallet ownership before processing any transaction.

Ownership checks would operate alongside Travel Rule requirements already in force. Operators would need to classify customers, screen account information and check whether a wallet is linked to mule accounts, watchlists or transactions carrying elevated illegal-finance risk. Blockchain analytics or comparable monitoring tools would become mandatory for tracing digital asset movements and identifying links to high-risk wallets — though the consultation does not name specific providers or prescribe a single technical platform.

Who escapes the five-million-baht ceiling

The cap is not universal. Transfers between accounts held at Thai-regulated digital asset operators would remain exempt when both businesses comply with the Travel Rule, since customer information moves through the regulated system and each operator keeps a record of the parties involved.

Several other groups would receive carve-outs. Businesses transferring stablecoins through accounts held in their own names would not face the ceiling when the activity serves their stated commercial purpose. Institutions supervised by the Bank of Thailand could qualify when the central bank authorizes stablecoin use for a specific arrangement, assessed case by case. Market makers supplying liquidity to stablecoin-baht trading pairs would be exempted for transfers required for liquidity management — but the proposal pointedly declines to create a general waiver, leaving operators responsible for confirming each transaction fits the stated function.

There is also an income-consistency test buried in the fine print. The permitted transfer value would need to remain consistent with the customer’s income and financial position, meaning operators could apply a lower practical threshold whenever a transfer does not match what they learned during onboarding.

Off-platform trades face their own rulebook

The consultation pairs the transfer caps with new standards for off-platform transactions handled by digital asset brokers and dealers. Such trades would carry a minimum value of three million baht, roughly 91,000 USD, and businesses would need to publish the digital asset prices used on their websites so customers can verify transactions completed outside regular order books.

Brokers would be barred from arranging direct off-platform transactions between two customers, though they could still act as agents matching customers through an exchange. The proposal draws a careful line between brokers, which arrange transactions for clients, and dealers, which trade as principals — each remaining subject to controls designed to keep off-platform services from becoming channels for cybercrime proceeds.

Market makers in the spotlight

Licensed exchanges would need to publish the names of their market makers and identify exactly which assets each firm supplies liquidity for. Screening would extend to the source of assets and the actual purpose of market-making transactions, with operators required to monitor and periodically review market-maker conduct. The regulator says the controls are intended to prevent liquidity arrangements from becoming channels for illegal fund movements.

For brokers, liquidity providers would be prohibited from serving stablecoin-baht trading activity entirely. Other liquidity providers would face location and anti-money-laundering requirements: no operating from jurisdictions that fail to implement Financial Action Task Force recommendations, oversight from an appropriate regulator, and reasonable grounds for the broker to believe customer assets can be safeguarded. Brokers would even need to disclose their liquidity providers and any conflicts of interest to clients.

What it means for the Thai market

Thailand has been one of Southeast Asia’s more active digital asset jurisdictions, having already implemented Travel Rule checks on self-custodial wallets with five-year recordkeeping requirements. The new consultation narrows the focus to ownership, transfer values and the responsibilities of regulated operators.

For retail users, the practical impact is blunt: large stablecoin movements to private wallets or foreign platforms would become a daily metered activity, and anything inconsistent with declared income could be flagged. For the industry, the proposal adds another layer of compliance cost to a market where licensed operators already face tight supervision. The comment window runs through Sept. 25 on the Thai SEC website and the country’s central legal consultation portal, and the final text will determine whether the exemptions are broad enough to keep institutional stablecoin activity flowing through Bangkok.