Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a criminal complaint against cryptocurrency exchange Bitget’s operator, BG Limited, for allegedly providing unlicensed trading services between 2022 and 2025. The regulator has also notified the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to block access to Bitget’s website, associated domains and mobile application from December 5, 2026.
The November 5 action comes as Bitget pursues the acquisition of GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), an already licensed cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage, through BTGT Management (Thailand). The proposed transaction is awaiting regulatory approvals, and seller GMO Internet recently postponed the expected share transfer from October 31 to November 30.
That leaves just five days between the revised acquisition timetable and the scheduled platform restrictions. The SEC has not indicated whether its criminal complaint will affect the proposed change of ownership.
SEC alleges unlicensed trading and Thai-language marketing
According to the Thai SEC’s November 5 enforcement announcement, BG Limited operated a digital asset exchange without the required authorization under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018).
The regulator identified several activities supporting its allegations. Between 2022 and 2025, Bitget provided cryptocurrency trading and exchange services, charged transaction fees and operated a Thai-language website that allowed users to display asset values in Thai baht.
The SEC also cited marketing activity directed toward Thai customers through social media accounts, including Bitget Thailand on X, BGB Thai Holder on Telegram and bitgetthailand on TikTok.
The regulator filed its complaint with the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police, alleging violations of Sections 26 and 66 of the digital asset legislation.
The complaint additionally names Kritsana Kritsananuwat, whom the SEC accused of helping publicize Bitget’s services through the Srisiam Facebook page and SRISIAM YouTube channel. The regulator alleges that his promotional activities supported the exchange’s unlicensed operations.
The case is now subject to police investigation, followed by potential prosecution and judicial proceedings. Filing a criminal complaint does not establish criminal liability, and no court ruling has been announced.
There is another detail here, though. Bitget’s published terms of use already identify Thailand as a prohibited jurisdiction, meaning the exchange’s contractual restrictions and the regulator’s assessment of its historical operations are not aligned in their timing.
The current restrictions do not establish when Thailand was first added to Bitget’s prohibited-country list or whether the platform continued accepting Thai customers after introducing those terms.
Bitget’s GMO-Z acquisition faces a regulatory hurdle
On October 20, Bitget announced plans to acquire GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics (Thailand), which operates the locally licensed Z.com EX exchange, through its interest in BTGT Management (Thailand).
GMO Internet and its Thai holding subsidiary agreed to transfer their combined 99.94% ownership interest in the business, representing approximately 7.35 million shares. The transaction price has not been disclosed at the buyer’s request.
The acquisition would provide Bitget with an established licensed operation in Thailand, subject to approval of the ownership change and other applicable regulatory requirements.
GMO Internet’s September 24 disclosure originally scheduled the transaction to close on October 31. An October 30 filing subsequently moved the expected completion date to November 30, with GMO citing ongoing preparations and discussions concerning applications, regulatory approvals and procedures necessary to complete the transfer.
The seller said the revised timetable would have a minimal impact on its consolidated financial results for the year ending December 2026.
The timing is tight, and it got tighter before the SEC complaint was announced.
Bitget’s proposed entry into Thailand now involves two seperate regulatory processes: a criminal investigation concerning historical activity by its offshore exchange operator and approval of a transaction involving a licensed Thai business.
The SEC has not publicly linked the criminal complaint to the acquisition approval process. Its announcement does not identify GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics or BTGT Management as subjects of the enforcement action.
There is a licence involved in the acquisition, yes, but it belongs to GMO-Z.
Ownership of a licensed exchange would not automatically authorize BG Limited’s offshore platform to serve Thai customers. Any local trading operation would need to function within the permissions, conditions and corporate structure approved by Thai authorities.
Bitget previously indicated that it intended to introduce its trading platform to Thai users after completing the acquisition and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. No confirmed launch date has been announced.
The acquisition therefore remains a potential route into the market rather than an established resolution to the restrictions facing Bitget’s existing platform.
Thailand continues enforcement against offshore exchanges
The complaint follows a series of Thai regulatory actions against international cryptocurrency trading platforms operating without local authorization.
In May 2025, the SEC announced criminal complaints against Bybit, 1000X, CoinEx, OKX and XT.COM for allegedly operating unlicensed digital asset trading businesses. Authorities scheduled access restrictions against those five platforms for June 28, 2025, and urged customers to withdraw or transfer their assets before the deadline.
Those measures followed amendments to Thailand’s legislation on technology-related crimes, which expanded the government’s authority to restrict access to unauthorized digital asset platforms.
Thailand’s approach has parallels elsewhere in Asia. Malaysia recently renewed its warning against Binance, which remains outside the country’s list of registered digital asset exchanges. The Malaysian regulator’s action against Binance similarly illustrates how international exchanges can face restrictions in individual countries despite operating across multiple global markets.
European regulators have also required exchanges without local authorization to discontinue services. In the Netherlands, MEXC’s planned market exit and referral arrangement with Bybit EU provides an example of customers being directed toward an authorized operator rather than continuing to use an offshore platform.
Thailand’s latest action presents a different situation. Bitget is seeking to acquire a licensed local business while simultaneously facing restrictions over its earlier activity in the same jurisdiction.
The regulator has not disclosed how many Thai customers used Bitget during the period under investigation, the trading volumes attributable to those customers or the fees generated from the alleged unlicensed operations.
Without those figures, the direct commerical impact of losing access to Thai customers cannot be quantified.
December 5 deadline leaves customers facing access restrictions
The Thai SEC has advised investors holding assets on Bitget to consider taking appropriate action before December 5 to protect their interests.
The planned restrictions cover Bitget’s main website, associated domains and application. The regulator has not said that customer assets will be confiscated or frozen, nor has it provided details about how withdrawals would operate after access is blocked.
For customers, the date is clear enough; the mechanics after that date, much less so.
Neither the SEC announcement nor the acquisition disclosures establish that existing Bitget accounts or balances will automatically migrate to GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics if the transaction closes.
Other exchanges have adopted different approaches to jurisdiction-specific restrictions. In October, KuCoin announced its exit from Russia and Belarus, introducing individual customer notifications covering position closures and withdrawal deadlines.
Bitget has not publicly provided a comparable Thailand-specific offboarding timetable beyond the regulator’s December 5 restriction date. Customers seeking to move their assets would need to verify withdrawal availability and instructions through the exchange’s official channels.
It is possible to have an acquisition scheduled and still have no confirmed route for existing customer accounts to move across. Bitget’s disclosures so far do not establish how the two processes would connect.
The immediate milestones are November 30, when the GMO-Z share transfer is scheduled, and December 5, when access restrictions are expected to take effect.
Any confirmation of the acquisition’s regulatory approval would clarify Bitget’s prospects for establishing a licensed Thai operation. It would not, by itself, resolve the criminal allegations concerning BG Limited’s previous activities.
For investors and customers, the outstanding questions are whether the acquisition can recieve approval on the revised timetable, what conditions Thai authorities might impose and how Bitget will manage users of its existing platform before the access restrictions begin.
Johan Shamshad is Editor-in-Chief at Dave Finances, covering financial markets, digital assets, trading platforms, brokers, fintech, payments and regulation. Since 2023, he has also worked as an editor at Gulf News, the UAE English-language newspaper published by Al Nisr Publishing LLC. His work focuses on market-moving developments, company disclosures, regulatory changes and trading infrastructure, with an emphasis on primary-source verification and practical context for traders and investors.