Thailand adopts crypto Travel Rule requiring wallet checks and five-year data retention

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized its version of the crypto Travel Rule, requiring every digital asset business operator in the country to collect, transmit, and verify detailed information about both senders and receivers of crypto transfers. The rules take effect on February 27, 2027, giving the industry roughly 18 months to get its compliance infrastructure in order. The regulation also imposes a five-year data retention mandate on all transaction records. For the first two years, that data must be immediately accessible to regulators on demand. What the Travel Rule actually requires Under Thailand’s new framework, VASPs must collect originator and beneficiary details for every digital asset transfer. That means names, account numbers, and other identifying data travel alongside the crypto itself. The more contentious piece involves self-hosted wallets, the kind where users hold their own private keys rather than relying on an exchange. Operators will need to verify that the person initiating or receiving a transfer actually owns or controls the self-custodial wallet in question. The regulations were developed in partnership with Thailand’s Anti-Money L...