Thai SEC Bans Crypto Payments, Cites Negative Economy Impact

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (Thai SEC) said it has banned the use of cryptocurrencies as payment methods for goods and services, saying that it has a negative impact on the country’s financial system and economy, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Thailand Bans Crypto Payments

This comes after discussions between the Thai SEC and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to regulate the use of digital assets as a means of payment.

As per the rules, the Thai SEC noted that business owners, including crypto exchanges, must not provide means to allow digital assets to be used for payments. However, the new rules do not include crypto trading and investments.

Furthermore, crypto exchanges must desist from promoting, advertising or providing tools that will enable customers to use crypto in paying for goods and services in their wallets. In addition, they must warn their users against using crypto as a payment option and freeze their accounts if they fail to comply.

The new rules are to be effective from April 1, 2022, although firms are given grace until the end of that month to comply with the rules.

The move also comes at a time when there has been a surge in digital asset adoption by Thais. The value of crypto assets held by Thais went up to $3.4 billion from $285.4 million a few years ago. The number of active trading accounts also increased to 1.98 million from 170,000 before the pandemic, the government said.

A Tough Stance on Crypto

Despite the growing interest in crypto by Thais, the country’s regulators have always continued to maintain a tougher stance on the nascent asset class.

Back in June, the Thai SEC banned the trade of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and memecoins in the country, saying that they have no clear objectives or substance.

In December, the Bank of Thailand prohibited commercial banks from being involved in crypto trading activities, saying that their price volatility poses a risk to investors.

This January, the Thai Revenue Department announced plans to impose 15% tax on crypto trading. However, it halted its plans due to backlash from crypto traders.