Thailand SEC clears the way for local spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized the rules for local spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds. The regulator issued 11 notifications on October 8, 2026, and the framework takes effect on October 16, 2026. No specific ETF products or issuers have been approved so far. Asset managers still have to register funds and win product approval before anything can trade. What the new rules actually require The framework is narrow by design. These ETFs must be passively managed, and they can list and trade only on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Each fund must hold a minimum of 80% average net exposure to a single asset. For now, the eligible assets are limited to Bitcoin and Ether. Custody is another core requirement. Fund assets must sit with digital-asset custodians licensed by the SEC. Buyers must complete investor education and give a mandatory risk acknowledgment before they can trade the new ETFs. The guardrails: no margin, limited foreign access Under the initial provisions, securities firms cannot offer margin lending for purchases of these ETFs. The rules also initially bar retail access to foreign crypto ETF-linked structures. Thai mutual funds ...