Thailand Sets New Crypto Travel Rule, Requires Self-Custodial Wallet Checks

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued Travel Rule requirements for digital asset businesses, extending compliance checks to transfers involving self-hosted wallets as the country brings its crypto oversight closer to international anti-money laundering (AML) standards.

The SEC announced the regulations on Wednesday. They will take effect on Feb. 27, 2027, giving digital asset operators nearly six months to develop systems for transmitting, receiving, and monitoring information tied to crypto transfers.

Self-Hosted Wallet Transfers Face Ownership Checks

Under the framework, digital asset operators must collect information on customers and their counterparties in connection with digital asset transfers. Operators must also verify ownership of, or control over, self-hosted wallets when customers transfer digital assets to or receive them from such wallets.

Self-custodial wallets differ from wallets operated by centralized exchanges (CEXs) or other custodians because users directly control the private keys required to access and transfer their crypto assets.

Operators must retain information accompanying every digital asset transaction for at least five years in a form that allows supervisory authorities to promptly retrieve or examine it.

For transfers between regulated operators, the originating operator must send information identifying the originator and beneficiary with the transfer order. If a digital asset transfer involves an intermediary operator, the originating operator must confirm that the intermediary is appropriately qualified.

The SEC said the measures are intended to improve operators’ ability to manage money-laundering risks and prevent digital asset services from being used for technology-related crime. SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon said the framework would also reduce the risk of operators being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Thailand’s changes come as more jurisdictions implement the Financial Action Task Force’s standards for virtual assets. FATF said in July that 83% of the jurisdictions covered by the relevant portion of its 2026 survey, or 91 of 109, had passed Travel Rule legislation, up from 73% in 2025. 

Final Rules Follow Two Public Consultations

The SEC first sought public feedback on proposed Travel Rule principles in March before opening another consultation on draft regulations in June. Most stakeholders participating in the initial consultation supported the proposed principles, according to the regulator.

The Travel Rule forms part of a broader period of crypto rulemaking in Thailand, while the SEC is separately considering measures that would expand investor access to regulated digital asset products.

On Monday, the SEC proposed allowing intermediaries to provide retail investors with access to certain crypto derivatives traded on regulated overseas exchanges. 

Days earlier, the regulator advanced proposed rules covering spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds and sought feedback on requirements governing foreign digital asset custodians used by funds investing in cryptocurrencies.