ThailandAbout
Nares Laopannarai (in Thai, นเรศ เหล่าพรรณราย) began his career as a financial reporter for Thai newspapers and television, covering capital markets and monetary policy. Around 2017 he became chief operating officer of a fintech firm exploring an ICO for a Thai listed company. He later co-founded Supercryptonews, a crypto news site in Thai, English and Vietnamese, and then founded Ricco Tech, a digital asset media company.
He joined the Thai Digital Asset Association in 2019 and was appointed its president in late 2022. In that role he speaks for the association to government and the media, and represents it at industry events such as Thailand Blockchain Week and Block Mountain.
He has called for Thailand to become a hub for digital capital raising, particularly for real-world assets, which he says needs updated rules and lower tokenisation costs. In November 2025 he urged the next government to strengthen the regulatory and promotional framework so that Thailand could return to the global top ten for crypto adoption. In May 2026 he described Thailand's Travel Rule as a sign that digital assets are entering a more structured, rules-based phase.
Policy engagement
Publicly called on the next Thai government in November 2025 to strengthen the regulatory and promotional framework for digital assets so that Thailand could regain a place among the top ten countries for adoption.
Key actions
Said Thailand's Travel Rule marks a more rules-based phase for digital assets and urged firms to engage early with regulators and industry bodies.
SourceWarned that Thailand was losing ground to Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and urged the next government to include digital assets in its policy platform.
SourceSet out TDA plans to draft proposals for government, with all relevant stakeholders, to develop Thailand's digital asset industry.
SourceArgued in a profile interview that Thailand should become a digital capital raising hub for real-world assets, with modernised rules and lower tokenisation costs.
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