Regulators in Thailand limiting cryptocurrencies payment From April 2022


On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand declared that it is
limiting the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment of goods and
services as of April 1 citing a number of financial and economic threats.
The newly
adopted regulations will take impact on April 1, 2022, the SEC said. The agency
introduced that digital asset commercial enterprise operators, consisting of
crypto exchanges, would have 30 days to comply with the new regulations from
the effective date.
Companies must
now not enforce structures and tools to facilitate crypto payments or open
wallets for that purpose, the commission said. If a crypto platform establishes
that its customers use buying and selling accounts for payments, it needs to
notify the customers about the misuse and take similar action, if necessary,
inclusive of temporary suspension or termination of services. The law
additionally bans the promoting of cryptocurrencies for fees alongside the
distribution of software and devices for that purpose. It says as well that
operators of digital asset organizations need to warn their customers of the
ban and can suspend their accounts if they violate the regulation. In addition
to now not providing the services, organizations are additionally barred from
encouraging or promoting the use of the digital property to pay for goods or
services. Businesses have till the end of April to comply with the ban.
The country’s
securities regulator introduced regulations designed to discourage digital
asset operators from presenting and encouraging such services. The move follows
in the past discussions between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) on the advantages and risks of digital assets
during which the two establishments recognized the want to undertake rules
keeping the steadiness of the nation’s financial system and economy and
preventing risks for its residents and companies.
The agency is
putting in place measures to safeguard the nation's financial and monetary
systems from threats that include money laundering and other cyber crimes as per the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator writes that its decision is
based on the inherent dangers related to cryptocurrencies. The risk has been
listed are its price volatility, the possibility for hacking, private
information exposure, and it being used for money laundering.
The Thai SEC
will in the future supervise the companies in the sector intently to make certain
they are now not offering a digital property as a payment method. At the same
time, the new guidelines are no longer meant to block crypto buying and selling, and investing.
The SEC and the
BOT disclosed their plan to regulate crypto payments in January. The regulatory
update comes in spite of preceding tries to facilitate such payments in
Thailand, a famous traveller destination. For example, the tourism enterprise
lately held talks with the central financial institution to find alternative
payment methods, including crypto, for Russian visitors whose country has been
placed under sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

Indrani bose
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA