Thai Companies Move to Tokenize Real-World Assets as Regulatory Framework Matures
Bangkok, April 24, 2026.
Bangkok, April 24, 2026. Corporate demand for asset tokenization is accelerating in Thailand, with companies converting equities, corporate bonds, government bonds, real estate, and gold into blockchain-based instruments as the country's regulatory infrastructure reaches a level of maturity that few regional peers can match. The shift, confirmed by a senior figure at the country's dominant crypto exchange, reflects a broader push by businesses to access pools of capital that legacy financial systems cannot reach.
Bitkub co-founder Atthakrit Chimplapibul put the situation plainly in comments published by the Bangkok Post on April 23. "The transition to Web3 is no longer optional," he said. Bitkub controls more than 80% of Thailand's crypto trading volume and serves over 5 million registered users. Thailand's national crypto user base, at approximately 5 million, is the highest of any country in Southeast Asia.
A Government That Moved First
Thailand's case stands out in the region partly because its government made an early bet on tokenization as a public finance tool. In mid-2025, the Public Debt Management Office issued the G-Token, a tokenized government bond described by analysts as the first of its kind offered to retail investors globally.
The initial tranche totaled approximately 5 billion baht (around $153 million). The minimum investment was set at 100 baht, roughly $3, a threshold designed to give ordinary Thai savers access to a product that institutional bond markets had historically reserved for large-ticket buyers. XSpring Digital, SIX Network, Krungthai XSpring, and KuCoin Thailand handled the issuance infrastructure.
That product is not an isolated experiment. The Bank of Thailand expanded its programmable payment sandbox in December 2025, broadening the scope of testing for baht-backed digital payment instruments, escrow tools, and asset tokenization use cases.
The Securities and Exchange Commission followed in July 2025 with rules that permit licensed securities companies to offer trading and exchange services for investment tokens, connecting traditional brokerages directly to the digital asset ecosystem.
Tax Policy as a Competitive Tool
Thailand also moved on the tax side. Starting January 1, 2025, personal capital gains from crypto sales through SEC-licensed exchanges are exempt from income tax until December 31, 2029. Transfers through those same licensed operators are also exempt from value-added tax. The exemption does not extend to corporate tokens or trades conducted through offshore platforms. Analysts say the five-year window is designed to give retail investors meaningful after-tax returns during a critical adoption period.
Three independent legal analyses, from Nishimura and Asahi, Siam Legal, and HLB Thailand, confirm the policy's scope and current validity.
Where the Global Numbers Stand
The domestic push is happening against a backdrop of rapid growth in the global tokenized real-world asset market. According to data cited by CryptoTimes from DeFiLlama on April 24, the total tokenized RWA market has grown from roughly $1 billion three years ago to approximately $28 billion today, using the broadest market definition that includes off-chain custodied assets.
Tokenized U.S. Treasury products alone account for $5.8 billion of that figure, as of March 2026. BlackRock's BUIDL fund, the single largest tokenized RWA product, held $1.9 billion as of March 2026.
Analysts note that the next test is liquidity. Sheena Lim, CEO of 1exchange, said in a statement reported by Thailand Business News: "In 2026, success will be measured by whether these assets can deliver continuous market liquidity beyond the initial issuance stage."
Creating active secondary markets for tokenized assets, rather than one-time issuances, remains a central challenge, according to analysts.
A Regional Entry Point
Thailand's combination of regulatory depth and retail accessibility is drawing cross-border interest. Investors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, China, and the United States are showing rising interest in Thailand as a compliant access point for tokenized asset exposure.
Vietnam passed its own digital asset framework law in January 2026 and is launching a state-backed crypto exchange, though the country is still building out enforcement capacity. Indonesia transferred crypto oversight to its Financial Services Authority but has a domestic adoption rate of only 4%, compared to Thailand's 18% of the population. Singapore remains the dominant institutional hub but has adopted a cautious posture, including a decision to delay bank crypto-asset capital rules until 2027.
Southeast Asia's crypto market revenue is projected to hit $10 billion in 2026, growing at a compound annual rate of around 8.2%. APAC crypto inflows rose 69% year on year in 2025, with India, Vietnam, and Pakistan leading the global adoption indexes cited in that period.
What Comes Next
Bitkub is simultaneously managing an expansion decision of its own. After shelving a planned listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which had fallen nearly 25% year-to-date through November 2025, the exchange has opened preliminary conversations with financial advisers about a $200 million IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. That process is at an early stage and no terms have been finalized.
Beyond any single company's listing strategy, a more immediate opportunity for developers and institutional players may lie in infrastructure. The regulatory groundwork is in place. The retail investor base exists. The gap that remains is the plumbing: secondary market liquidity tools, wallet integrations, and middleware that lets tokenized assets move as fluidly as the sector's continued growth requires.