The issuer of USDT, Tether, is issuing gold Tokens, interpreting Thailand's digital asset regulatory policies.

Written by: Deron, Mankiw

On May 13, 2025, Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, announced the launch of Tether Gold Token (XAU₮) on the Thai digital asset exchange Maxbit. According to Tether, 1 XAU₮ corresponds to 1 ounce of gold in the real world.

Prior to this, on March 10, 2025, the Thai SEC announced USDT as an approved cryptocurrency, and the Thai Deputy Prime Minister also announced that Thailand intends to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to promote the development of the local tourism industry.

Figure 1 Tether officially announces that gold tokens are officially entering Thailand.

Earlier, on December 7, 2023, Tether announced a partnership with Bitkub, Thailand's largest cryptocurrency exchange, to launch an educational project in Thailand focused on stablecoins and blockchain knowledge. The two parties will enhance digital financial awareness among Thai users through the establishment of educational courses, general awareness campaigns, incentive-based learning programs, and Q&A sessions. It is worth noting that USDT is also the largest stablecoin traded by Thai users and on the Bitkub exchange.

Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT by market size, reported in its latest Q1 2025 financial statement that as of March 31, the market capitalization of stablecoins issued by Tether was approximately $143.7 billion, with holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds amounting to about $120 billion. In Q1, the new supply of USDT was approximately $7 billion, and there were an additional 46 million user wallets created.

Even as the leading stablecoin, Tether has been seeking more regulatory endorsement and market share in recent years by continuously embracing regulation. On January 13 of this year, Tether announced that it would relocate its headquarters and related entities from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to the Central American island nation of El Salvador after obtaining a Digital Asset Service Provider license (DASP) issued by El Salvador. The company's CEO and COO also purchased property locally and obtained local residency.

Thailand, one of the most active economies in Southeast Asia and a world-renowned tourist destination, has an export-oriented economy with frequent cross-border flows of funds and people. Due to various factors, the Thai government has a relatively friendly policy towards digital assets, attracting many industry giants and startups to choose Thailand for their cryptocurrency business. In a global cryptocurrency adoption index country ranking released by Chainalysis in 2024, Thailand ranked 16th.

Figure 2 Chainalysis releases the 2024 Cryptocurrency Adoption Index ranking

This article will take Tether's strategic layout in Thailand as a starting point to summarize the characteristics of digital asset regulation in the Thai market.

Thailand's regulatory attitude towards digital assets

Thailand's regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrency assets has undergone a transition from cautious observation to active embrace. This evolution is closely related to the global trend of digital economic development and adjustments in Thailand's domestic economic strategy.

On May 14, 2018, Thailand issued the "Digital Assets Business Act" which categorizes digital assets into two main types: cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. The primary difference between the two is that cryptocurrencies serve as a medium of exchange, while digital tokens represent rights. At the same time, the Act primarily regulates crypto assets from two dimensions: first, the issuance of digital tokens, and second, the conduct of digital asset business, including exchanges, market makers, service providers, fund managers, investment advisors, and custodial wallet service providers.

Regulation of Token Issuance in Thailand

1. Regulated token issuance: investment tokens, utility tokens ready for exchange listing, cryptocurrencies.

According to different sources of income, the Thai SEC classifies digital tokens into categories such as real estate digital tokens, infrastructure digital tokens, sustainable development-related digital tokens, and debt tokens. In 2022, the real estate company SC Asset raised approximately 300 million baht (about 8 million USD) through STO, becoming the first approved case.

If investors want to issue regulated tokens, they need to meet the following conditions:

Obtain the license from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission.

Submit a registration application to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission for the issuance of digital tokens and submit a prospectus for the token issuance.

Qualification conditions that meet regulatory requirements.

2. Exempt Token Issuance: Digital tokens issued by the Bank of Thailand (BOT), consumption-based utility tokens, and limited offerings that meet specific conditions.

Utility Token for Consumption:

The issuer issues tokens based on consumption purposes or as digital certificates.

Utility tokens that are not based on consumption purposes or as digital certificates, but are limited to use within specific distributed ledger systems, such as tokens used internally in centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), tokens used as discounts or other subsidies in licensed digital exchanges, and tokens representing voting rights.

A limited issuance by the issuer that meets the SEC's requirements for investor information disclosure and satisfies one of the following specific conditions:

Issued to institutional investors or ultra-high-net-worth clients;

For specific investors who have a special relationship with the issuer, the issuance period shall not exceed 12 months, and the number of specific investors targeted shall not exceed 50.

The issuance cycle does not exceed 12 months, and the total issuance value does not exceed 20 million Thai Baht.

Regulation of digital asset exchanges in Thailand

Regulated digital asset exchanges refer to centers or networks that provide services for the buying, selling, and matching of digital assets.

Conditions that digital asset exchanges must meet:

1. A legally registered entity in Thailand, licensed by the Ministry of Finance of Thailand;

2. The exchange shall not engage in digital asset trading business;

3. The paid-in registered capital shall not be less than 100 million Thai Baht;

4. Maintain the required net asset level for regulatory compliance;

5. Comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations.

6. Fulfill the obligations of KYC, CDD, and timely reporting of suspicious transactions.

Mankun Lawyer's Advice

1. To conduct token issuance business in Thailand, it is necessary to register a company entity in Thailand and assess whether a license from the Thai SEC is required based on the characteristics of the token.

2. The company's management, such as directors, executive directors, and other management personnel, must not have a history of bankruptcy or criminal cases;

3. The company should at least have a reliable business plan and audited financial statements;

4. The company should pay attention to timely disclose its operational and financial data in accordance with SEC requirements.