Thailand's securities regulator has filed a criminal complaint against BG Limited, the company that runs the Bitget exchange. The agency says the exchange served Thai users without a license and asks that access to its website and app be shut off from Dec. 5.
What the regulator decided
Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Thursday that it had asked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to block Bitget. The restriction will cover the main website, related domains and the mobile app. The block starts on Dec. 5.
The SEC sent the criminal complaint to the Economic Crime Suppression Division for investigation. Prosecutors will decide whether to bring charges, and a court will determine the level of liability.
The regulator advised users to deal with their assets on the platform before that date.
How Bitget operated in the Thai market
According to the SEC, the exchange offered crypto trading to Thais from 2022 to 2025, charged trading fees and promoted itself through Thai-language websites and social media. The agency treats this as a breach of the licensing rules for digital asset businesses.
The complaint also names one individual, Kritsana Kritsananuwat. The SEC alleges he promoted Bitget on Facebook and YouTube and brought in potential customers. The agency had already accused him of promoting OKX without a license, in March 2025.
The rules are not new. Thailand introduced licensing for crypto exchanges in 2018 and tightened it in April 2025 so that it explicitly covers foreign platforms targeting local users. Authorities gained stronger powers to block illegal exchanges at the same time. The Ministry of Digital Economy acts under a 2025 decree on investor protection and the fight against financial crime.
The GMO-Z.com deal is now in question
The SEC's move came just over two weeks after Bitget announced the purchase of GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, a licensed Thai exchange and brokerage. The deal was to go through a local affiliate, BTGT Management, and was announced on Oct. 20.
"Thailand is an important part of Southeast Asia's digital asset market, and this acquisition gives us a great opportunity to set up local operations."
- Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, from the announcement of the GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics acquisition on Oct. 20, 2026
After closing the deal, the company planned to bring its trading platform to the Thai market. At the time of the announcement the acquisition still needed regulatory approval. The SEC did not say whether the criminal complaint will affect that approval. Bitget did not immediately answer a request for comment from Cointelegraph.
What awaits customers and the platform
The regulator left customers in Thailand exactly one month. Assets must be withdrawn or sold by Dec. 5, while the website and app still open.
- The criminal complaint targets BG Limited, the exchange operator.
- The block will hit the website, related domains and the app.
- Prosecutors will decide on charges after the investigation.
Those holding USDT on the exchange will need to decide where to move funds: to a personal wallet or to a platform with a local license.
Thailand is raising pressure on foreign exchanges without a license, and Bitget has become the next visible example after OKX. What happens next depends on the prosecutors' decisions and on whether the GMO-Z.com deal gets approved.
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