Thailand Blocks Access to Unlicensed Vcex Exchange From 7 November After SEC Criminal Complaint

From 7 November 2026, Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) is to block public access to the Vcex.io website and the VCEX application after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) referred the unlicensed platform for a national access cut-off. The block follows an SEC criminal complaint filed on 7 October 2026 against Assure Technology Co., Ltd. and four related persons for operating a digital-asset exchange without a licence under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018).

On 5 November 2026 the SEC published a further reminder (No. 243/2026) urging users who still hold assets on Vcex to withdraw or transfer them before the block, so they are not left without access once MDES implements the cut-off. The case is separate from the SEC's 5 November criminal complaint against Bitget (BG Limited), which seeks an access block from 5 December 2026.

What the October Complaint Alleged

In release No. 215/2026 of 7 October 2026, the SEC said it had filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Crime Suppression Division against five respondents: Assure Technology Co., Ltd.; authorised directors Mr Yutthana Srisuriyaporn, Mr Sivanus Yamdee and Mr Keerati Prasanthai; and Miss Pimchaya Wattanakulyothin. The SEC found that, from 24 December 2021 to 2 September 2022, Assure, Mr Sivanus and Miss Pimchaya jointly provided the Vcex.io platform and VCEX application in a way that let users match buy, sell and exchange orders for digital assets in the ordinary course of business and charged fees.

The platform offered Thai-language services and was promoted through events in Thailand and online channels. The SEC treats that pattern as operating a digital-asset exchange under section 3 of the Emergency Decree. Operating without a licence breaches section 26 and attracts criminal penalties under section 66, read with section 83 of the Penal Code for joint offenders. The three directors are said to have been responsible for Assure's operations at the time and are therefore liable in the same way as the company under section 94 of the decree.

Vcex does not appear as a licensed digital-asset exchange on the SEC's public licensee list. The complaint is the start of the criminal process: police inquiry, prosecutorial charging decisions and, if charges proceed, court adjudication. The SEC said it would monitor the case and cooperate with other agencies after filing.

How the 7 November Access Block Works

Alongside the criminal filing, the SEC submitted details of the Vcex.io site and the VCEX Android application to MDES under the Royal Decree on Measures for Preventing and Suppressing Technology Related Crimes (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025), which took effect on 13 April 2025. That decree empowers MDES to order blocks of unlicensed digital-asset trading platforms to protect investors and reduce their use for money laundering. The October release stated that public access would be blocked from 7 November 2026.

The 5 November reminder repeats that MDES will proceed with the block on that date and that the public will then be unable to reach the platform. It names the Google Play listing for the VCEX app (package com.chainup.exchange.Vcex) as well as www.vcex.io. The SEC again advises users to withdraw or transfer assets before the cut-off and points readers to the Investor Alert list of names that are not regulated digital-asset businesses and to the licensed-operator list and SEC Check First app for verification.

As with other SEC referrals under the 2025 technology-crime decree, the practical cut-off depends on MDES orders to access providers. Users inside Thailand should expect the site and app to become unreachable from the stated date; overseas reach is outside the scope of a domestic access block.

Who Is Affected and How This Fits Thailand's Enforcement Pattern

Immediate addressees are Assure Technology, the four named individuals and anyone who still holds balances on Vcex accounts used from Thailand. Licensed Thai digital-asset exchanges, brokers, dealers and other operators on the SEC list are not the target of this complaint. The case is about an unlicensed platform that, on the SEC's findings, served Thai users with local-language marketing and on-platform matching.

The Vcex block lands two days after the SEC's Bitget complaint and about a month after the Vcex criminal filing. Together the two cases show the same enforcement sequence: criminal referral to the Economic Crime Suppression Division, a timed MDES access block under the 2025 technology-crime decree, and public warnings to move assets before the cut-off. Bitget's stated block date remains 5 December 2026; Vcex's is 7 November 2026.

What comes next on the criminal side is outside the SEC's control once the complaint is lodged. On the access side, internet and app-store channels in Thailand will need to implement the MDES order. For the wider market, platforms that solicit Thai users without a Minister of Finance licence on the SEC's recommendation remain exposed to both criminal complaint and a calendar-dated national access block. Firms that want to serve Thailand lawfully still need to appear on the SEC's licensed digital-asset business list before building that local footprint.