The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has initiated a consultation period for input on regulations that would permit exchanges or individuals affiliated with an exchange to issue utility tokens, according to a statement released on Friday.
According to the suggested regulations, exchanges would be required to reveal the names of anyone linked to the token issuers, which would aid the SEC in tracking potential insider trading activities. This initiative is part of Thailand’s strategy to develop a regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency sector.
The nation announced in May plans to enable tourists to utilize crypto through credit cards, just a few days before prohibiting crypto exchanges OKX and Bybit in the country due to issues regarding unlicensed activities and money laundering. A month later, it revealed a tax exemption on capital gains from crypto sales made via licensed crypto service providers.
Thailand encountered a crypto insider trading scandal in 2022. In August of that year, the SEC claimed that the chief technology officer of Bitkub, one of the leading exchanges in the country, utilized confidential information to acquire specific tokens prior to a significant transaction.
Related: KuCoin ventures into Thailand with SEC-sanctioned exchange
Insider Trading in Cryptocurrency
Insider trading involves the buying or selling of a security based on confidential, nonpublic information. This practice is deemed illegal in numerous jurisdictions, though specific regulations vary depending on the regulatory authority, such as a nation’s respective Securities and Exchange Commission.
There have been multiple occurrences of suspected insider trading in the cryptocurrency market.
In 2021, OpenSea employee Nate Chastain faced allegations of using insider knowledge to purchase NFTs that were soon to be displayed on the OpenSea homepage. Chastain was convicted in 2023 of wire fraud and money laundering and sentenced to three months in jail.
In 2022, three Coinbase employees faced charges of insider trading. Two of them were subsequently sentenced to prison.
More recently, Binance suspended an employee in March following an inquiry into alleged insider trading. There were also insider trading suspicions regarding US President Donald Trump’s memecoin Official Trump (TRUMP), after a blockchain analytics company examined the peculiar conduct of a whale wallet.
Magazine: Trump’s cryptocurrency endeavors raise conflict of interest, insider trading inquiries
