On June 11, 2021, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement that banned, among other things, all meme tokens. The statement said:
The Notification prescribes that digital asset exchanges set their listing rules and prohibits the exchanges from providing services related to utility tokens or cryptocurrencies that have any of the following characteristics:
(1) Meme token: having no clear objective or substance or underlying [sic], and whose price running on social media trends;
(2) Fan token: tokenized by the fame of influencers;
(3) Non-fungible token (NFT): a digital creation to declare ownership or grant of right in an object or specific right. It is unique and not interchangeable with digital tokens of the same category and type at the equal amount;
(4) Digital tokens which are utilized in a blockchain transaction and issued by digital asset exchanges or related persons.
Though Dogecoin is not mentioned specifically, it is of course the most well know meme token. With mentions by public figures such as Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, it is up about 5400% in 2021. Exchanges have 30 days to implement the necessary changes.
Author
David Zaslowsky
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David Zaslowsky is partner in the Litigation Department of Baker McKenzie's New York office. He helps companies solve complex commercial disputes in arbitration and litigation, especially those involving cross-border issues and Section 1782 discovery. David has a degree in computer science and, as a result, has worked on numerous technical-related disputes, including, most recently, those involving blockchain and artificial intelligence. In April 2025, Attorney Intel named David one of the top 25 blockchain lawyers in the country. He is the editor of the Firm's blockchain blog and co-editor of the firm's International Litigation & Arbitration Newsletter. David has been included for a number of years in the Chambers USA Guide and Chambers Global Guide for his expertise in international arbitration. He also sits as an arbitrator and is on the roster of arbitrators for a number of arbitral institutions. David sits on the Board and chairs the governance committee of the New York International Arbitration Center, and is a founding member of the International Arbitration Club of New York. For over 35 years, he has written and spoken often on the subjects of arbitration and international litigation.