Two bitcoin stories this week are about what comes next rather than what has happened. Thailand’s securities regulator has finished the rulebook for crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which takes effect on 16 October. And the next major version of Bitcoin Core, the software most bitcoin nodes run, is scheduled for release but had not been tagged when TSN checked on Friday morning. Neither is a price signal, and TSN offers no investment advice.
Thailand: crypto ETF rules take effect on 16 October
Confirmed (Thai SEC press release). These are rules only: no Thai crypto ETF has launched. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand said on 8 October that it “has issued notifications governing the establishment and regulatory framework for crypto exchange-traded funds (crypto ETFs) in Thailand” [1]. An ETF is a fund whose units trade on a stock exchange like shares, so investors can get exposure without holding the asset directly.
The SEC says it issued 11 related notifications, and “The notifications will take effect on 16 October 2026” [1]. They also let fund managers delegate digital-asset investment management, and allow “digital asset custodians (DA custodians) and other qualified digital asset business operators to act as mutual fund supervisors for crypto ETFs” [1].
The main rules, in the SEC’s words [1]:
- Passive funds only. A crypto ETF must be “a passive investment vehicle seeking to track the price of the crypto asset in which the fund invests”. “The fund must maintain average net exposure to a single crypto asset of at least 80 percent of net asset value (NAV) over each accounting year.”
- Which assets. “During the initial stage, eligible crypto assets will be Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
- Custody. Crypto ETFs “must be safeguarded only by DA custodians regulated by the SEC”.
- Where they trade. They “will be listed and traded exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)”.
- Investor protection. Investors must “acknowledge and confirm their understanding of the relevant risks before trading crypto ETFs”, and brokers “will not be permitted to provide margin loans for the purchase of crypto ETFs”.
The SEC says it consulted on the rules in August and September 2026, and that most respondents supported them [1]. Cointelegraph’s report matches the release [2]. Products still have to be created, approved and listed before anyone can buy one.
Bitcoin Core 32.0: scheduled, still at release candidate 3
Confirmed (GitHub). There is no v32.0 tag yet. When TSN checked the project’s GitHub tags at about 06:50 BST on 9 October, the newest was v32.0rc3, a release candidate (a test build). There was no v32.0 tag or release page [3]. The project’s release-schedule issue lists, under 10 October 2026, “Tag v32.0 (aim)”, so 10 October is a target, not a promise [4]. Until the tag appears, 32.0 is scheduled, not released.
One fix in this version concerns privacy. Bitcoin Core has an optional “private broadcast” setting for sending your own transactions more discreetly. Pull request #36312, merged on 25 September with the 32.0 milestone, stops the software applying its usual “discouragement” treatment to private-broadcast peers, because, in the pull request’s words, “Discouraging a private broadcast connection may be observable” [5]. Misbehaving peers are still disconnected [5].
The same fix for the current 31.x series, pull request #36358, was still open on 9 October, with a 31.2 milestone [6]. CryptoSlate notes that private broadcast “is disabled by default”, so users who never switched it on are not affected (reported) [7].
What this does not prove
- That Thai crypto ETFs exist. The rules take effect on 16 October; no fund has been announced as listed [1].
- That bitcoin ETFs in Thailand will draw demand. The SEC gives no forecasts, and neither does TSN.
- That Bitcoin Core 32.0 is out. It was still at rc3 when checked; release dates can slip [3][4].
- That 31.x users with private broadcast on are fixed. The backport was still open [6].
The Bottom Line
Thailand has set clear rules for passive bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, listed only on the SET, from 16 October; products have yet to appear. Bitcoin Core 32.0, which includes a fix for an opt-in privacy feature, is aimed for tagging on 10 October but was still a release candidate on Friday morning.
Sources
- Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand, press release No. 216/2026, Bangkok, 8 October 2026, as distributed by Public Technologies (official; re-read by TSN on 9 October). https://www.pubt.io/view/97F806AE0C70A0D5C3DE243398D3DEB111DAFCD2
- Cointelegraph, “Thailand finalizes rules paving way for Bitcoin, Ether ETFs”, 8 October 2026 (trade press, corroborating). https://cointelegraph.com/news/thailand-finalizes-rules-paving-way-for-bitcoin-ether-etfs
- bitcoin/bitcoin, GitHub tags (latest v32.0rc3; no v32.0 tag), checked 9 October 2026, about 06:50 BST. https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/tags
- bitcoin/bitcoin, issue #35122, “Release Schedule for 32.0” (open; “2026-10-10 … Tag
v32.0(aim)”). https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/35122 - bitcoin/bitcoin, pull request #36312, “net: don’t discourage private broadcast peers” (merged 25 September 2026; milestone 32.0). https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/36312
- bitcoin/bitcoin, pull request #36358, “[31.x] net: don’t discourage private broadcast peers” (open; milestone 31.2). https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/36358
- CryptoSlate, “Bitcoin Core privacy fix reaches v32; v31 patch remains open”, 8 October 2026 (trade press). https://cryptoslate.com/bitcoin-cores-privacy-fix-reaches-v32-code-while-the-v31-patch-remains-open/
