What to know:

• Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated discussions on new regulations permitting exchanges to issue their own utility tokens.
• The SEC aims to implement oversight mechanisms to track illegal activities, including insider trading.

The SEC has revealed on its website that it is considering allowing crypto exchanges or affiliated individuals to issue utility tokens for blockchain transactions. Exchanges must identify anyone linked to token issuance to help the SEC monitor for potential insider trading.

This consultation is part of the SEC’s strategy to balance fostering innovation with preventing unlawful activities. Previously, the regulator stated that citizens would be denied access to certain crypto exchanges, including Bybit and OKX, citing breaches of the Digital Asset Business Act.

In a recent development, the SEC included Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC as tradable tokens on exchanges; earlier, only Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Stellar (XLM), and some tokens from Thailand’s Bank Settlement System were approved.

The SEC is seeking public feedback on the proposed rules until July 21.