Thailand to block Bitget from December 5 after SEC files criminal complaint

What the SEC alleges

Bitcoin Magazine's account of SEC statement No. 241/2026 says the complaint went to the Economic Crime Suppression Division and covers 2022 to 2025. The regulator's case is that Bitget ran a trading system in the ordinary course of business, charged fees, operated a Thai-language website that could show values in baht, and solicited Thai users through channels including "Bitget Thailand" on X, "BGB Thai Holder" on Telegram and "bitgetthailand" on TikTok.

The SEC says this amounts to running a digital-asset exchange without a license under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses of 2018. The complaint also names an individual, Kritsana Kritsananuwat, as an alleged supporter who promoted Bitget on Facebook and YouTube. The case now goes to an inquiry official, then to prosecutors and the courts. These are allegations at the first stage of that process, and no court has ruled on them.

PANews reports the same complaint, the same December 5 date and the same reminder to users. CoinDesk summarizes the allegation in the same terms. We could not open the SEC's own statement because its website refused our requests, so the details here come from those reports.

Two tracks: a criminal case and an access block

The block runs separately from the complaint. The SEC submitted Bitget's website, other domains and app to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society under a 2025 royal decree that lets authorities cut access to unlicensed trading platforms. So the December 5 date does not depend on the criminal case reaching a verdict.

Thailand has used this tool before. Bitcoin Magazine notes that in mid-2025 the SEC referred Bybit, OKX and three other unlicensed platforms for a June 28 cutoff and told users to move assets first. The Bitget action follows that pattern and adds a police referral against the operator and a named promoter.

Policy points the same way for licensed platforms. Bitcoin Magazine says Thailand has approved a multi-year capital-gains tax break only for trades on SEC-regulated venues and has been expanding regulated crypto products in derivatives and capital markets. Unlicensed platforms get investor alerts, access blocks and, in Bitget's case, a police referral.

Why November 30 matters

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Bitget has been trying to enter Thailand through a licensed door at the same time. The timeline shows how close the two events now sit.

Bitget's press release says completion needs regulatory approval, and that after approval for the change of control it intends to introduce its trading platform to Thai users. Bitcoin Magazine says GMO Internet moved the date from October 31 to November 30, citing work on Thai regulatory applications and closing procedures.

Under the deal, GMO Internet and its Thai holding company would transfer their entire stake, about 49% and 50.94%, to BTGT or a designee at completion, according to Bitcoin Magazine. Blockhead describes the buyer as a company set up on September 22 with share capital of THB 2 million, owned 51% by BTGT Investment Holdings and 49% by BTGT Holdings. Bitget has not said how large its interest in the vehicle is. GMO, for its part, announced its exit from Thai digital assets in March.

The target is a small business. Blockhead's reading of the GMO filing puts its 2025 net sales at THB 11 million against a net loss of THB 87.6 million, with net assets of THB 11.4 million. Blockhead concludes that Bitget is mainly paying for the license and a working local operation. That makes the regulator's view of the buyer the central question.

The deal also comes after a hard few weeks for Bitget. Blockhead notes that on September 24, the day GMO's board signed off on the sale, Bitget reported unauthorised transfers from some hot wallets, and it later put the assets moved at about $387.5 million. Bitget said the losses fell within its User Protection Fund and that customer funds were safe. Finance Magnates reported in October that Bitget had announced it would discontinue services for certain users in what it called a "one-off exercise".

Nobody has answered it in public. According to Bitcoin Magazine, the SEC statement does not mention GMO-Z, and it is unclear whether a case against BG Limited for 2022 to 2025 blocks, slows or leaves untouched the bid by BTGT. Another open point: Bitget's current terms of use name BTG Technology Holdings Limited as the company that operates the platform, while the SEC complaint names BG Limited. We have not seen an explanation of how the two relate.

What to do if you use Bitget from Thailand

Bitget's terms, updated November 4, list Thailand among the places where its services are prohibited. Combined with the block, that makes waiting a poor plan. The SEC told investors with assets on the platform to consider acting before the cutoff.

Start with a record of what you hold: balances by asset, open orders, open futures positions and any earn or staking products with a lock-up date. A position you cannot reach after December 5 is the sharpest risk, so check futures and locked products first. Save your order and transfer history while the site still loads.

If you decide to withdraw, confirm the network and the receiving address on the screen and send a small test amount first. Leave time for it. A withdrawal started in the last days before a deadline has no margin for a failed transfer or a support ticket.

Expect scams around the deadline. Fake migration notices, "Bitget Thailand" support accounts and links promising to keep your access alive are the obvious forms this takes. Reach your account only through the address you already use, and never hand over a password, a verification code or a seed phrase. Before moving funds to any new platform, confirm its license with Thailand's SEC directly.

What it means for everyone else

Nothing in the reports describes a change to accounts outside Thailand. The market reaction so far is flat. Bitget's public BGB-USDT ticker showed $1.7348 at 02:45 SGT on November 7 (18:45 UTC on November 6), against a 24-hour open of $1.7334, a rise of about 0.08% by our arithmetic. The 24-hour range was $1.7139 to $1.7444. That data shows only where the token traded and does not tell us how holders read the complaint.

The next date to watch is November 30. If the share transfer goes through, the question passes to Thai regulators and the change-of-control approval. If it slips again, a licensed route would still be open on paper while the main platform goes dark in the country on December 5.

What we could not confirm

We have not seen a Bitget response to the complaint; Bitcoin Magazine says it has not publicly answered it in a statement posted with the acquisition release. The reports do not say what happens to balances left on the platform after December 5, whether withdrawals will stay open through other routes, or whether the block will be applied on the exact day. The size of Bitget's Thai user base is not stated, and Bitget has not disclosed the deal price; GMO said the price was withheld at the buyer's request.

Quick answers

Is my Bitget balance frozen?

No report we opened says balances are frozen. The stated measure is a block on access to the website, other domains and app from December 5, plus a criminal complaint against the operator.

Does this affect users outside Thailand?

The action comes from a Thai regulator and the reports describe access in Thailand. We found no report of a change for accounts elsewhere.

Will the acquisition still go ahead?

Unknown. The share transfer is scheduled for November 30 and still needs regulatory approval, and the SEC statement does not mention the deal.