Thailand moves to block Bybit, OKX and others for unlicensed operations

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that exchanges Bybit, 1000X, CoinEx, OKX and XT will be banned for unauthorized offering of services to local users on their online websites.

"This is to protect investors and stop the use of unauthorized digital asset trading platforms as a money laundering channel," the Thai regulator said  in a translated statement.

The country's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will block local access to the platforms starting June 28, 2025.

The Block has reached out to the exchanges for comment. 

"We are aware of the recent announcement by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding access to certain digital asset platforms, including OKX," an OKX spokesperson told The Block.

"We want to reaffirm that OKX is strongly committed to maintaining the highest standards of regulatory compliance and to fostering a safe, transparent, and responsible trading environment. We respect the legal frameworks of applicable jurisdictions and work proactively with regulators around the world. As a firm, we are fully committed to engaging with governments and law enforcement agencies to prevent illicit activities such as money laundering," OKX said.

In April last year, the Thai SEC announced its plans to cut off local access to unlicensed digital asset trading platforms, following a meeting with a government committee on preventing technology-related crimes.

Amid actions to mitigate money laundering risks in the local crypto space, Thailand is reportedly planning to issue around $150 million worth of an investment-grade crypto token to its public in the following months. The token would allow investors to earn a higher return than they would on bank deposits, Bloomberg reported, citing Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira.

Update: Added comment from OKX