Hello everyone, I have been living in Thailand for some time. I have been married for two years and currently support myself entirely from my cryptocurrency savings. I do not run any other online business and I am not engaged in professional trading. I simply convert enough crypto into Thai baht each month to cover my living expenses. I have two Thai bank accounts, and I am considering using one of them for regular P2P transactions on platforms that allow users to buy or sell BTC or USDT against Thai baht. My intention would be to place advertisements on the platform, wait for a counterparty, and complete the transaction through the platform’s escrow or payment process. I have been trying to understand whether this type of activity would be considered a regulated digital asset business under Thailand’s Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018). From what I have read, a person who regularly buys and sells digital assets for their own account as a business may fall within the definition of a Digital Asset Dealer. Someone acting as an intermediary for other people may instead be considered a Digital Asset Broker, while a platform that matches buyers and sellers may be classified as a Digital Asset Exchange. However, I also understand that certain activities may be excluded under the relevant SEC notifications, including SEC Notification No. 11/2561. This leaves me with two main questions: Would a foreign resident need a Thai work permit or other employment authorization to conduct this type of P2P activity from Thailand? In particular, would regularly posting buy/sell advertisements and completing transactions be regarded as “work” or self-employment under Thai immigration and labour law, even if I am not working for an employer? Would I need a Thai SEC digital asset business licence to carry out P2P trades for my own account? If so, would the relevant category be a Digital Asset Dealer licence, or could this be treated as personal investment rather than operating a digital asset business? I am not planning to operate an exchange, hold client funds, act as a broker for third parties, or manage money for anyone else. The activity would involve only my own funds and my own crypto holdings. Nevertheless, I am concerned that regularly advertising trades and dealing with multiple counterparties could be interpreted as carrying on a business in Thailand. Could this potentially expose me to administrative, immigration, civil, or criminal consequences if I did not have both the appropriate work permit and any required SEC or Ministry of Finance authorisation? I would be grateful for comments from anyone familiar with the Thai SEC, the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, Thai work-permit rules, or the distinction between personal crypto investment and operating an unlicensed digital asset business. Thank you.
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