THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Wongsakrit Khajangson, Panupan Udomsuvannakul, Koraphot Jirachocksubsin and Pitchaya Roongroajsataporn, Chandler Mori Hamada
Project Nexus: Enhancing Cross-Border Payments Project Nexus is a groundbreaking initiative managed by the Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO) and supported by the Bank for Interna - tional Settlements (BIS). The project seeks to create a scalable and interoperable network for instant cross-border payments across ASEAN and potentially beyond. Instead of requiring a payment system operator to build custom con - nections for every new country, the operator only needs to make a single connection to the Nexus platform. Project Nexus has global ambitions, aiming to connect multiple domestic IPS to form a scal - able global network. The project aligns with the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Pay - ments, which seeks to make instant payments affordable and easy for users across participat - ing countries. The project has already seen sig - nificant progress, with the Reserve Bank of India joining the initiative and expanding the potential user base to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the world’s largest IPS. In summary, Project Nexus represents a sig - nificant step forward in the quest to enhance cross-border payments, leveraging innovative technology and international cooperation to cre - ate a seamless and efficient payment network. Regulation of the Digital Asset Market and Businesses Several significant regulations and guidelines regarding the digital asset market and business have been issued by relevant regulators, requir - ing digital asset business operators to be subject to numerous additional obligations in their busi - ness operations and marketing plans. Among these, the most impactful included the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC), in
joint consideration with the BOT and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), enacting a notification prohib - iting digital asset business operators from using digital assets as a means of payment for goods and services. This led to an abrupt decline in the use of digital assets as a means of payment. The SEC also put in place regulations imposing more restrictions on businesses – eg, the prohibition of privacy coins to prevent digital assets being used for illegal activities, and limitations on the advertising of digital assets. However, in 2024, the SEC issued an exemption from this restric - tion for the operation of digital asset businesses, specifically for the programmable payment tests under the BOT’s regulatory sandbox. The SEC updates its rules to keep pace with digital asset-related changes, protect investors, and boost market growth. Some key 2024 regu - latory updates include: • new approaches for ready-to-use utility tokens; • ICO governance standards, such as checks, resolutions, and advertising; • enhanced governance of digital asset busi - nesses, including structure, operations, and qualification criteria; • easier shelf filing ICOs for the soft power and digital economy sectors; and • a payment exemption for the BOT’s sandbox project. In addition, in August 2024, the SEC proposed a draft bill amending the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018) (the “Digital Assets Decree” ), which marks the first draft amendment to the primary legislation gov - erning digital assets in Thailand. This amend - ment aims to enhance regulatory efficiency and align with international standards, ensuring appropriate oversight based on the nature and
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