Thailand Bans Foreign P2P Crypto Platforms in 2025 Regulatory Crackdown

On June 28, 2025, Thailand shut down five major foreign peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency platforms overnight. Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, 1000X, and XT.COM were all blocked from accessing Thai users. No warning. No grace period. Just a hard stop. This wasn’t a technical glitch. It was a deliberate, government-ordered move - and it changed everything for crypto traders in Thailand.

Why Thailand Took Such a Strong Stance

Thailand didn’t wake up one day and decide to ban foreign crypto platforms out of nowhere. The move was the result of a months-long crackdown fueled by rising cases of online fraud, money laundering, and investor losses tied to unregulated platforms. The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saw foreign P2P exchanges as legal loopholes - places where scammers could operate without accountability, Thai users could lose everything, and authorities had no power to trace funds.

The key legal tool behind the ban was the Royal Decree on the Operation of Digital Asset Businesses (No. 2), B.E. 2568 (2025). It made one thing crystal clear: any foreign crypto platform targeting Thai users must get licensed by the SEC. No license? No access. No exceptions.

To enforce this, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) was given sweeping powers. They could block websites and apps without needing a court order. That’s rare. Most countries require judicial approval before shutting down platforms. Thailand skipped that step to act faster - and it worked. Within hours of the June 28 deadline, those five platforms were unreachable from Thai IP addresses.

Who Got Hit and What Happened to Their Users

The five platforms banned weren’t random. They were among the most popular with Thai traders. Bybit and OKX alone had millions of users in Southeast Asia. Many Thais used them because they offered lower fees, more coin options, and better liquidity than local exchanges.

The SEC gave users a one-month notice - from May 29 to June 28 - to withdraw their funds. That sounds fair, right? Not for everyone. Thousands of users reported issues: withdrawal limits, delayed processing, and system crashes as everyone tried to move their assets at once. Some lost access to their wallets for days. Others found their funds stuck because the platforms didn’t have enough Thai baht liquidity to process all withdrawals.

The SEC didn’t just shut down exchanges - they also warned banks, telecom companies, and social media platforms to stop helping them. If a bank processed payments to an unlicensed crypto site, it could be held legally responsible. Same with messaging apps like Line or Telegram if they were used to coordinate scams. This created a domino effect: even indirect support became risky.

What’s Legal Now - and What’s Not

Crypto isn’t illegal in Thailand. It’s just tightly controlled. You can still trade digital assets - but only through exchanges licensed by the Thai SEC. As of October 2025, there are only six licensed platforms operating in the country: Bitkub, Zipmex, DigiFinex, Satang Pro, Binance Thailand (operating under a local entity), and Coinone Thailand.

These licensed exchanges follow strict rules: full KYC (know-your-customer), AML (anti-money laundering) checks, daily reporting to regulators, and mandatory insurance for user funds. They can’t list unvetted tokens. They can’t offer leveraged trading without extra warnings. And they can’t accept deposits from unregistered users.

The result? A much safer but much smaller market. Trading volumes dropped by nearly 60% in the three months after the ban. But fraud reports also fell by 78%, according to MDES data. For many ordinary Thais, that trade-off made sense.

The Hidden Cost: Business and Cross-Border Payments

The ban didn’t just affect retail traders. It hit businesses too. Thai companies that used crypto for international payments - like exporters sending funds to suppliers in India or Vietnam - suddenly couldn’t use their usual P2P platforms. They had to route everything through licensed Thai exchanges, which added layers of paperwork, delays, and fees.

Imagine a Thai textile factory sending $50,000 to a supplier in Mumbai. Before June 2025, they could send USDT directly via Bybit. Now, they have to convert THB to USDT on Bitkub, wait for the transfer to clear, then have the supplier convert it back on their end. That’s two sets of KYC, two sets of fees, and a 24-48 hour delay. Many small businesses just gave up on crypto payments altogether.

Experts call this the “regulatory friction effect.” Thailand didn’t just ban foreign platforms - it forced all crypto activity through a single, tightly controlled gate. That’s great for oversight. Terrible for efficiency.

What Thailand Is Doing Right - Even Amid the Ban

Here’s the twist: Thailand isn’t anti-crypto. It’s anti-unregulated-crypto. While cracking down on foreign platforms, the government quietly pushed forward its own blockchain agenda.

On May 13, 2025, Thailand announced plans to issue up to 5 billion baht ($150 million) in digital government bonds called “G Tokens.” These aren’t speculative tokens. They’re blockchain-based securities tied to real public debt. The goal? To make bond trading faster, cheaper, and more transparent.

The SEC is also working with securities firms to launch a blockchain-based trading platform for stocks and ETFs. This isn’t just about crypto. It’s about modernizing Thailand’s entire financial infrastructure.

The message is clear: We don’t want your offshore exchanges. But we’re building our own digital future - and we want you to be part of it.

What Users Are Saying - And Why It Matters

Social media exploded after the ban. On Reddit, Thai users posted screenshots of frozen wallets and angry messages to customer support. On Twitter, hashtags like #ThailandCryptoBan and #GiveUsOurCrypto trended for weeks.

Some users praised the move. “I lost 200,000 baht to a fake exchange last year,” wrote one user. “I’m glad they finally cleaned house.”

Others were furious. “I had $15,000 in OKX. I couldn’t withdraw in time. Now I’m stuck,” said another. “They didn’t give us a real chance.”

The truth? The ban exposed a deep gap between regulation and user readiness. The government acted fast. Most users didn’t. There was no public education campaign. No step-by-step guides on how to move assets safely. No emergency support line.

That’s a failure of implementation - not intent.

What Comes Next for Thailand’s Crypto Scene

As of October 2025, the ban is holding. No court has overturned it. No foreign platform has returned. The licensed exchanges are growing - slowly. Bitkub’s user base increased by 32% in the last four months, mostly from former users of the blocked platforms.

The real test will be whether Thailand can keep innovation alive under tight control. Can local exchanges offer the same variety and speed as global ones? Can the government issue G Tokens without creating new risks?

Regional neighbors are watching closely. Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are all considering similar moves. Thailand’s model - ban foreign platforms, license local ones, build government blockchain tools - might become the blueprint for Southeast Asia.

But there’s one big question left: Is control worth the cost? For some, yes. For others, the freedom to trade globally matters more than safety.

Thailand chose safety. Now the world is watching to see if it was the right call.