[Exchange News] Bitget Faces Criminal Complaint from Thai SEC: Website, Domain, and App to be Blocked Starting December 5th – Users Have About a Month to Move Their Assets Timeline: * November 5th: The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Crimes Division (ECD) against Bitget's operator, BG Limited, for operating a digital asset exchange without a license from 2022 to 2025. * The same case also names Kritsana Kritsananuwat: accused of promoting Bitget on Facebook ("Srisiam") and YouTube ("SRISIAM"). * The regulator has reported http://(bitget.com), related domains, and the app to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES); according to technology crime laws, access within Thailand will be blocked starting December 5th. * The SEC advised users to handle their assets on the platform before the ban, otherwise they may not be able to withdraw them. * A more complicated point: On October 20th, Bitget... Just after announcing its acquisition of the licensed local exchange GMO-(Z.com) Cryptonomics, aiming for a "legitimate entry," complaints nearly jeopardized the acquisition's approval process. What happened: This isn't just another compliance warning. Thailand required digital asset businesses to be licensed in 2018, and in April 2025, it tightened regulations, targeting platforms "operated overseas but targeting Thai users." The SEC's evidence is concrete—Thai-language sites, Thai baht pricing, Bitget Thailand's X, Telegram's "BGB Thai Holder," TikTok's "bitgetthailand"... Paid matchmaking combined with localized customer acquisition directly classifies it as operating without a license. Kritsana isn't a first-time offender: Cointelegraph mentioned that in March 2025, he was already complained about for promoting OKX without a license. This time, the regulators are using a two-pronged approach—criminal complaints and access blocking—to address this entire industry chain of promotion experts, cross-border exchanges, and local traffic, going beyond just issuing warning letters. What this means: * For those still using Bitget in Thailand: December 5th is a hard deadline. Websites, domains, and apps are all under attack. Don't expect a VPN to guarantee smooth withdrawals. Money in hot wallets overnight carries risk. * For exchanges acquiring customers in Southeast Asia: Thai-language materials, local KOLs, and Thai baht displays—previously growth tools—are now on the list of things to be investigated. Obtaining a license first and then selling traffic is cheaper than trying to remedy the situation afterward. * For those watching Bitget's acquisition of a licensed exchange in Thailand: Criminal proceedings are underway, while control changes require regulatory approval. Whether these two lines will conflict is more important than the press release. * For markets that have just experienced the Binance scandal, Mercado/BitMart, and banks being ripped off when entering CEXs: The regulatory narrative has been layered again—it's not about "whether it's legitimate or not," but "whether it has a local license." My opinion: Don't rush to say "Bitget is doomed." What's even more jarring is the time lag—the news of the acquisition of the licensed exchange hasn't even cooled down yet, and criminal complaints and the countdown to the site's closure have already begun. For retail investors, the best they can do is: check the jurisdiction where their account is located, withdraw all available funds before it's blocked, and don't treat the belief that "major exchanges = perpetual listings" as a truism. For the industry, the window of opportunity for Southeast Asia's "market share first, license later" strategy is closing. What do you think: Is this the proper enforcement, or is it closing the door before the acquisition is even approved? source: Thailand SEC English version (No. 241/2026): https://www.sec.or.th/EN/Pages/News_Detail.aspx?Lang=EN&NewsNo=241&NewsYear=2026&SECID=13530 Cointelegraph: https://(cointelegraph.com)/news/thailand-block-bitget-december-unlicensed-crypto-trading http://(Bitcoin.com)：https://news.(bitcoin.com)/regulation-and-legal/thailand-targets-bitget-criminal-complaint-imminent-ban/