Thailand's SEC Is Going After Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges, and It Is Not Slowing Down

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has sent an unmistakable message to offshore crypto operators: serve Thai users without a license, and you will be blocked, charged, and named. Over the past year the SEC has moved from warnings to hard enforcement, and in early 2026 it escalated further. For any digital asset business eyeing Thailand, this is the regulatory reality that now defines the market.

The 2025 blocking of five major exchanges

The turning point came in mid-2025. According to Cointelegraph and The Block, the SEC announced on May 29, 2025 that five crypto exchanges, Bybit, 1000X, CoinEx, OKX, and XT.com, would be blocked in Thailand from June 28, 2025, for offering services to local users without a license. The SEC said the measure was to protect investors and stop unauthorized platforms from being used as a money laundering channel, and it urged investors to withdraw their assets before access was cut off.

The legal basis was new. According to Fintech News Singapore, the action followed the Royal Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crime, which came into effect on April 13, 2025 and authorized the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to restrict access to illegal online services. The SEC filed formal complaints with the Economic Crime Suppression Division citing violations of the Digital Asset Business Act. Notably, as Comsure reported, some of the blocked exchanges, including Bybit and OKX, held MiCA licenses allowing them to operate across the European Economic Area, which did nothing to shield them from the Thai action. A license in one jurisdiction is not a license everywhere.

The 2026 escalation

The campaign did not stop with blocking foreign apps. According to law firm analysis by Lex Bangkok and reporting by Finance Magnates, the enforcement escalated in February 2026 when the SEC filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Crime Suppression Division targeting a licensed Thai digital asset broker, its affiliated overseas platform, and executives of both entities. The regulator alleged the parties had jointly operated an unlicensed exchange since 2023, with the local broker providing back-office support to funnel Thai customers onto an unlicensed global platform.

This is a significant shift. As Lex Bangkok notes, the SEC made clear that operating through a licensed local intermediary does not provide a safe harbour. If the underlying arrangement amounts to an unlicensed exchange, both parties face liability. The SEC also pursued individuals in January 2026 over allegedly offering Worldcoin trading services and unauthorized over-the-counter crypto dealing, and it has targeted people who promoted unlicensed platforms on social media channels including Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, Line, and Discord, according to Lex Bangkok.

The penalties are real

According to Lex Bangkok, penalties under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses can include imprisonment of up to three years and fines of up to 300,000 Thai baht, and the MDES can order internet service providers to block non-compliant platforms. The extraterritorial reach is the key point: the licensing requirement applies regardless of whether a platform has any physical presence in Thailand, as long as it targets Thai users through signals such as offering services in Thai, facilitating Thai baht transactions, using a .th domain, or marketing to people in Thailand.

A MiCA license in Europe did not shield Bybit or OKX from being blocked in Thailand. Regulation is local, and Thailand is enforcing its own.

What this means for digital asset brands

For crypto exchanges and digital asset businesses, Thailand has made the cost of non-compliance concrete. The era of quietly serving Thai users from an offshore platform is closing. The operators that will have a future in this market are the ones that pursue proper licensing, structure their local partnerships carefully so they do not create the appearance of joint unlicensed activity, and comply with Thailand's PDPA data rules, as Lex Bangkok advises. Meanwhile, the blocking of unlicensed competitors creates real opportunity for the licensed local exchanges such as Bitkub and Orbix that operate within the rules.

FAQs

Q1: Which crypto exchanges did Thailand block?

A1: Bybit, 1000X, CoinEx, OKX, and XT.com were blocked from June 28, 2025, for operating without local licenses, according to Cointelegraph and The Block.

Q2: What happened in 2026?

A2: The SEC escalated, filing a criminal complaint in February 2026 against a licensed local broker, its overseas platform, and executives for allegedly operating an unlicensed exchange, plus separate actions over Worldcoin and OTC dealing, according to Lex Bangkok and Finance Magnates.

Q3: What are the penalties?

A3: Up to three years imprisonment and fines up to 300,000 baht under the Emergency Decree, plus platform blocking by the MDES, according to Lex Bangkok.

Q4: Does an overseas license protect a platform in Thailand?

A4: No. Bybit and OKX held EU MiCA licenses and were still blocked in Thailand. The Thai licensing requirement applies to any platform targeting Thai users, according to Comsure and Lex Bangkok.

For brands entering Thailand, the crypto crackdown shows that compliance is not optional, and that is exactly where SpinDepth helps brands show up.

Source:

Source 1: Cointelegraph, Thailand to block OKX, Bybit crypto exchanges, https://cointelegraph.com/news/thailand-blocks-okx-bybit-crypto-exchanges

Source 2: The Block, Thailand moves to block Bybit, OKX and others for unlicensed operations, https://www.theblock.co/post/356317/thailand-to-block-bybit-okx

Source 3: Lex Bangkok, Thailand SEC Digital Asset Enforcement 2026, https://lexbangkok.com/thailand-sec-digital-asset-enforcement/

Source 4: Fintech News Singapore, Bybit, OKX Among Five Crypto Platforms to Be Blocked by Thai SEC, https://fintechnews.sg/112193/thailand/thailand-sec-crypto/

Source 5: Comsure, EEA MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges are being banned in Thailand, https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/eea-mica-licensed-crypto-exchanges-are-being-banned-in-thailand-for-failing-to-prevent-aml-and-fraud/