Thailand's Regulator Includes USDC, USDT Stablecoins in List of Approved Cryptocurrencies
Previously, only Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Stellar (XLM) and some tokens used in the Bank of Thailand's settlement system were approved.
Christian Sandor, CoinDesk Bot | Edited by Steven Alpher , Mar 10, 2025 1:05 PM UTC
What you need to know:
- Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adds Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC to the list of approved cryptocurrencies for trading on digital asset platforms.
- The decision, which will come into force on 16 March, was taken following a public consultation in February, where the majority of participants supported the initiative.
- The approval of USDT and USDC, with market caps of $142 billion and $58 billion respectively, puts Thailand in line with global trends where stablecoins are becoming increasingly important in crypto trading and payments.
Thailand's financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is expanding its list of approved cryptocurrencies by adding two of the largest stablecoins — Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC — as trading pairs on digital asset exchanges.
Previously, the regulator only gave permission for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Stellar (XLM) and some tokens used in the Bank of Thailand's settlement system.
The move follows a public consultation in February, which saw a majority of respondents back the initiative. The new rules will come into force on March 16.
By recognizing USDT and USDC, Thailand is following global trends where stablecoins are taking center stage in cryptocurrency trading and payments. Stablecoins are one of the fastest growing segments of the cryptocurrency market, driven by high demand in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. USDT has a market cap of $142 billion, while USDC follows with a market cap of $58 billion.
USDT issuer Tether said on Monday that the approval paves the way for wider adoption of its token in Thailand's financial sector.
Disclaimer : Some parts of this article were generated using AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adhere to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI policy.
