Thailand SEC initiates hearing on government digital token G-Token, clarifies digital asset regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) recently announced that it has officially launched a public hearing process on the government's proposed issuance of G-Token (Government Token), and clearly classified it as a "digital token" under the "Digital Assets Act" and directly supervised by the SEC.

The SEC specifically pointed out that G-Token cannot be used as a means of payment, and its core function is positioned as a digital public investment tool, rather than a currency token with a circulation payment function.

The Ministry of Finance promotes the pilot issuance of 5 billion baht G-Token to test market reaction

The hearing was held after the Thai Ministry of Finance announced that it would issue the first batch of G-Tokens with a total value of 5 billion baht (about 150 million US dollars). According to previous official reports, the plan has been approved by the Thai cabinet and is expected to be officially launched within two months.

Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand's Minister of Finance, said at a press conference that G-Token is a "non-debt digital investment tool" that is mainly used to raise funds from the public and is suitable for small investors to participate. "We hope to explore new financing and savings models through this method." He said.

At the same time, Pichai emphasized that this issuance is not a government debt financing behavior, but an innovative attempt to "test market reaction", which is in full compliance with the regulatory requirements of the Bank of Thailand and the SEC.

The expected return is higher than the bank interest rate, and small investors are the target group

According to the Ministry of Finance, G-Token will be open to the public for subscription, with a low threshold and set a more attractive return expectation than traditional deposit products.

The expected yield range is 1.25%-1.5% higher than the bank's fixed deposit rate, while the Bank of Thailand has lowered the benchmark interest rate to 1.75% since April this year, a two-year low. In the current low-interest rate environment, this product may be more attractive to retail investors seeking conservative returns.

Clear supervision, digital sovereign financial innovation is accelerating

The SEC's characterization of G-Token as a "digital asset" and its restriction that it cannot be used for payment functions will help avoid the ambiguity between tokenized government products and cryptocurrencies, and establish a regulatory paradigm for the issuance of digital tools by governments and public institutions in the future. At the same time, Thailand is actively promoting its digital economy strategy, including digital wallet plans, central bank digital currency (CBDC) research, and fintech regulatory sandbox pilots. The launch of G-Token is seen as an important part of it, testing both technical and regulatory capacity, and paving the way for subsequent larger-scale digital financial infrastructure construction.

Market Outlook: G-Token may provide a demonstration path for Southeast Asia

Globally, government-led digital token issuance is still an emerging practice. Analysts pointed out that if Thailand's move is successfully implemented, it will become the first country in Southeast Asia to launch a large-scale government digital token in the form of "non-debt, compliant, and public-oriented". Next, the market will focus on key details such as G-Token's actual issuance structure, platform support mechanism, investor protection measures, and liquidity arrangements to assess its positioning and sustainability in the digital financial ecosystem.