The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (Thai Sec Nftsstevensdecrypt) has ordered the country’s crypto exchanges to stop trading a wide range of virtual currencies, including both NFTs and meme coins.
In a press release yesterday, the SEC said that it had issued five orders barring various crypto exchanges from carrying out various activities in order to protect investors. The Thai Sec Nftsstevensdecrypt said that the five orders were issued on October 26 this year.
In coordination with other relevant agencies, the SEC said that it had decided to ban trading in several types of NFTs and meme coins that do not have “any objective or underlying value”. This is defined as those cryptocurrencies which rely on social media trends. The term meme refers to a specific type of internet memes that often satirize popular culture and other people. The SEC also banned these coins from being listed for trading on exchanges.
This move comes amid the SEC’s stated intention to crack down on illegalities in the crypto sector. The SEC has been particularly tough on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies that it deems might be being used for money laundering or other illicit purposes.
As part of this effort, Thailand’s central bank also announced yesterday that it has formed a special committee to oversee digital assets . Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, was quoted as saying “digital assets are not yet a legal means of payment in Thailand. I have asked the Finance Ministry to form a special committee to study digital currency and propose amendments to existing laws”.
Thailand is often seen as a regional crypto hub. According to data from Coinhills, the country ranks third in terms of trading activity for Bitcoin [BTC] and first for Ethereum [ETH], Bitcoin Cash [BCH], and XRP.
In addition, the Thai government has been seen as somewhat pro crypto in the past. The Thai central bank has even issued a set of guidelines for ICOs that it had deemed to be legitimate last year. In addition, the SEC had earlier this year also declared Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to be “digital assets” and not currencies. This declaration was seen as helping to legitimize virtual currency in Thailand by regulators in the country.
However, the SEC’s crackdown on NFTs and meme coins has resulted in a strong backlash against the government in Thailand. The main reason for this backlash is due to what many have seen as a severe misunderstanding of the nature of NFTs and meme coins.
In his blog post , Narudee Taywaditep , an expert on Thai crypto-law, called the move by the SEC as “fundamentally flawed”. Mr. Taywaditep also said that the SEC’s ban on NFTs is a “worrying development”.
“I see this as utterly misguided”, he said. “In essence, the Thai Sec Nftsstevensdecrypt decision is saying that all NFTs (including those which have been extensively used in Thailand for years) are now illegal under Thai law”.
Nerd Thai , a popular Thai crypto-meme site that has around 500,000 registered users and posts more than 200 memes per day, also expressed disappointment over the SEC’s move.
“I am pretty disappointed with this ruling”, said the blog’s editor, Ojirak Singdam . “The meme most certainly does not have any monetary value. In fact, for many of us it is not even about money”.
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