Bitcoin Forum

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/10210022/Bitcoins-banned-in-Thailand.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/10210022/Bitcoins-banned-in-Thailand.html)

LOL

I guess I'm going to have to go somewhere else to find ladyboys that take bitcoin. Damn.

This kind of blows.

noooooooooooo... not again
a repost of the same topic AND another newspaper who can't factcheck.
sad.

Weird.

Because it is not as fun for the patrons and women to stick a cyber currency in  the cat sanctuary......

Is they pissed cause we no bring Bitcoin Expo to Pattaya?

I missed the memo! When did Bitcoin get lips?

Are you saying it isn't true?  Can you provide a link?  (And sorry if it's a repost, I checked here and press section, didn't see anything)

Yeah I noticed that too, kinda odd phrasing but I think they're referring to Bitcoin Co. Ltd, the Thailand company that has suspended operations due to the ruling.

still no facts yet? everyone is posting this but no one is for sure

Andrew Trotman has been banned from providing news in, about, around, etc. Thailand. Somebody said, "Andrew has no choice but to suspend writing until such as time that the laws in Thailand are updated."

Hmm Well FU Thailand this is why your country won't develop mumble (Rage)
But seriously that really is interesting news I mean the Thailand Central Bank isn't that powerful in fact until this article I did not even know of its existence to be honest or that Thailand even used a Central bank. That said if other Central Banks follow Thailand's lead it will be interesting

I request a confirming article takes with a grain of salt
COUNTER POST
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=264389.0

have you read the "source".

lol. the article if full of BS starting with "Bitcoin said..."


"...due to lack of existing applicable laws, capital controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple financial facets... Bitcoin activities are illegal in Thailand..."   
- it's illegal but there are no applicable laws  ???  good one.

Well this is the
COUNTER POST
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=264389.0

Which one is correct I'm leaning more towards the counter post than the telegraph lol since when does bitcoin have its website xd

https://bitcoin.co.th/trading-suspended-due-to-bank-of-thailand-advisement/

Apparently the statement came from senior officials at Thailand's central bank the Bank of Thailand, not the the government of Thailand.

https://bitcoin.co.th/trading-suspended-due-to-bank-of-thailand-advisement/

it's exchange's issue with the bank, same as gox had in the past with various banks and jurisdictions.  just made sound like the whole bitcoin is outlawed.

if bitcoin is illegal - where are the laws governing those activities related to bitcoin? what is a punishment a person get for trading or exchanging bitcoins in Thai?

until there is an official statement from Thai gov. one needs bucket of salt to read thru such crap. imo

what will they do with Litecoin and many other alt coins?  =)   

You can't fix stupid lol

It was just ruling regarding license application of one particular company. The licence was not granted to the said company due to fact that regulator doesn't know how to treat Bitcoin. That's all. All the generalization is just yellow press rumors.

If you have ever been to Bangkok Thailand I can not see being worried about getting approval for anything.  Certainly people in Bangkok don't operate under rules that it is NOT ok unless the government says it is.  The rules there seem more like anything goes unless there is an explicit rule against it AND the government is actually cracking down on it. 

Do you have a link to back up your statement?

The blurb getting around says something different:

" the following Bitcoin activities are illegal in Thailand:

Buying Bitcoins
Selling Bitcoins
Buying any goods or services in exchange for Bitcoins
Selling any goods or services for Bitcoins
Sending Bitcoins to anyone located outside of Thailand
Receiving Bitcoins from anyone located outside of Thailand"

It'll be interesting to see the fallout if this banning is the real deal.
A ban in one place could legitimize Bitcoin elsewhere. I just hope it doesn't spark some sort of Asian banning domino effect  :-\ Then again, something like that could wind up being good for Bitcoin too :D

Very hard to know what this means without having been in the room when they were having the conversation.

Maybe the guy just got sick of their stupid questions and figured telling them everything was illegal was the easiest way to make them go away so he could go and have his lunch.

Either way I think people are putting too much weight on the interpretation of someone who doesn't know the difference between "insight" and "incite".
https://bitcoin.co.th/trading-suspended-due-to-bank-of-thailand-advisement/

The link is the same  as the origin of your "blurb" https://bitcoin.co.th/trading-suspended-due-to-bank-of-thailand-advisement/

Members of certain department assembled to make decision on someone's particular licence. At the conclusion of the meeting colloquially advised <blurb>.

And: "The Bank of Thailand has said they will further consider the issue, but did not give any specific timeline."
And: "Bitcoin Co. Ltd. has currency exchange applications currently pending review with the Bank of Thailand."

What "further consider", what "pending review"? If it would be formally illegal then it should be full stop, isn't it?

Nope, no blows anymore. Unless you pay in cash.

Facts:
- Currently, there is no law in Thailand prohibiting the use of Bitcoin.
- Currently, the statement that Bitcoin is illegal hasn't been in the news in Thailand itself.
- Other Bitcoin sites, like www.bahtcoin.com, are still in operation.

Source:
- People I know personally who have lived in Thailand for over a decade now.

The legality issue of Bitcoin is merely a point of view by one organization.

This does not mean that Thailand won't pass a law to ban Bitcoin.
Lust like with any other country, a new law can change everything.
Also, if the royal family were to mention Bitcoin in a good or bad way,
then that would automatically have an direct impact on the matter.


jacQues

its a third world country,i dont think anybody cares about them

Well no big loss I guess.  BTC could actually be their official currency one day in the future.

Yep... might have to fiddle around a bit with the sign for the baht, but not all too difficult with a pencil and an eraser. ;-)

hang on though, an original source was from a bank? Is the troll here a national bank?

usa friends...

The USA has no friends.

Any further info here?

It's all FUD, some people who are in thailand have confirmed that the story just got out of hand.

joke all you want, but this is not good news.

thailand as a country and their currency tbh are irrelevant in term of bitcoin market so it's not a big deal but this sets a very bad precedences.

The bottomline is bitcoin at this stage is still heavily 100% dependent on fiat money.  You take away the ability to convert from bitcoin to the primary fiat currencies such as usd/euro and vice versa using a trusted exchange such as mtgox and it will be back to the stone ages for bitcoins...

For example if us/european government banned bitcoins, it means mtgox(or any legit exchange) cannot accept any wires in and out from their banks or allow their citizens to trade on mtgox as that would be breaking the law. Bitcoin will die, or at min go back to $5 a coin obscurity.

The reason bitcoin is so popular now is not because it's p2p noone can stop it, it's because there are legit exchanges that allow conversion to and from fiat. mtgox has come a long way and finally able to legalize and stabilize their platform.

If mtgox shuts down tomorrow see what happens to the bitcoin prices.  Some of you are living in fantasy land holding on this p2p notion as some sort of lock on price..

Yes wise words and I agree with everything you said.  If Thailand makes it illegal to buy and sell bitcoin, then any other country can as well...including the USA and EU, etc.

And if you think that is absurd, just remember how many other perfectly morally acceptable activities are illegal...and prisons are filled with people who break those "bogus" laws.

Until there are logical reasons to make Bitcoin illegal, then it is irrational. They fear Bitcoin now, but their greed will overcome the fear in the fulness of time.

although i believe the current news is blown out of proportion i say "Bring it on!" - see how bitcoin routes around barriers and obstacles.

the more Bitcoin gets stressed from many different angles, the more resilient it will get, else there is no point.

You will get more THB for your coins. Good for tourists.

The real information to be gleaned from this story is, the Bitcoin world is a news echochamber.

The small industry and group of humans following its vicissitudes is starved for information about it, and an unsubstantiated report from an unverified individual about spoken, not written or publicized, statements by one of many regulatory bodies in a medium-small country causes a furore. That's the story I got from this.

If a gov't genuinely outlaws a cryptocurrency, expect the exchange rate to fall.

Governments are very big -- the bigger the country, the bigger the government. They move slowly. Individuals move quickly. By the time the authorities realize that they've already lost the game, it'll be too late.

By this time someone would already found and produced link to the official regulation of the Bank of Thailand. But none exists apart that blog entry where guy quoted personal remark he heard from a bank official in lobby.

Why do you vapor this groundless matter? At least wait until official announcement.

When I first read this I couldn't believe it! Thailand has laws! Tell that to to the people in Soi Cowboy, Patpong or Silom Soi. Last time I was there some kid tried to sell me a full auto AK47 out of a crate with dozens of them in it on a side street. The kid said, "very good quality - from Cambodia". I told him that I didn't think it would fit in my carry-on bag.

..directly  ;)

No, banks not make laws, Government make laws for them (especially concerning economics).

Central Bank can issue regulations which lay within its duty.  Not that general of course like quoted in the "blurb". The matter is that there is not a single public official paper of the Bank of Thailand mentioning word Bitcoin. And I doubt it will appear in the near future.

some of us did, but it's not quite satisfactory

so are illegal or not? if you trade in bitcoin they can arrest you?

ok, so why this? https://bitcoin.co.th/en/
what does it means?

It means that internet thanks god is still free. Everyone can publish anything even stupid things.

By the way pay attention to the word "advisement" which is not "order", "decree", "regulation", "warrant" or whatsoever similar.

Someone who truly understands the workings.

I've been selling locally via localbitcoins during my travels, much easier than paying ATM fees or exchange fees...each time you get in a new currency just sell some bitcoins :)

So everybody ran with a story that a country made bitcoins totally illegal.

With as only single source a private website (newly created/registered just 7 weeks ago) from somebody/some company wanting to buy/sell bitcoins online in Thailand (with a horrific big spread of almost 20%, nice money spinner there).

No confirmation from the organization (Bank of Thailand) who supposedly has made bitcoins illegal, they are not commenting at all.

Yet virtually every website is openly posting Thailand officially and legally outlawed bitcoins. Including big names such as CNBC, Associated Press,...


Me thinks journalism has just collapsed!


Heck, I think I'll just register a website, post on my blog that Heroin is now approved for medicinal purposes the world over after having had a meeting with the WHO, next thing we see is pretty much all news website confirming Heroin is now legal for medicinal purposes. No need to wait until the WHO confirms this, let alone governmental spokes persons.   Cool :)

LOL sell sell sell

 ;D  ;D  ;D

And this is why the price keeps plummeting, smart people know this country is the first of many to ban bitcoin, people will be arrested and sued for even googling the word. they know they have to sell of now before it crashes to zero!

stooooop  :-X

Am I the only one here carnivorous enough to think that actually sounds kinda tasty?

Can't wait until 'The Newsroom' covers BTC

is there a reason you said this?? is it going to be covered? or just wishful thinking. i like that show

:D :D :D

Cheers

Just wishful thinking  ;)

Lol @ that this is the 2nd post to this topic

Comes to tell us how truly gay this community is
Not saying that is a bad thing, just an instinctive first impression that for some primitive reason I felt like sharing with you

U1A

The fuck is this?

probably a codeword for gays that signals that he is open for gay solicitations  :D

This dumb story could only get so much play on a very slow news day...

Pretty clear this Thailand story is bogus now.

But I wonder what effect it would have on prices if a country like USA decided to somehow impose a ban on Bitcoins?

Would it take a short dive and then bounce back, have a lasting impact, or make no noticeable difference to the value. Any thoughts?

how i see it. is this

in the US it is illegal to hunt animals.....
in the US it is illegal to wire transfer large amounts as a business on customers behalf.....


.... unless you have a licence.

i believe this is the first step towards thailand adopting the same bureaucracy of the western world. adding licences and regulation.

at the moment there are no licences for money transmission but they do ask what is the money being transmitted being used for, which there is a limited amount of purposes allowed. EG sending funds to family members. foreigners sending funds home. etc.

I wonder if any other countries have considered an outright ban on BTC and how they would plan on enforcing such a thing without looking moronic.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=264203.msg2851595#msg2851595
 ::)

This thread has clearly run it's course and now regressing to discussion of Buddhism, washing machines and my personal life.

ROTFLMAO

the standard procedure is to ban and only later realizing the laws have hard time enforcing such a thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7g8LXR0YUg

hahahhahha, this is gold!

If Thailand still bans bitcoin maybe you can get around that by trading anonymously.

I find this so amusing... now we can monitor how Bitcoin functions inside a country that has illegalized it, we should observe how this develops... maybe even help bypass their system for future occurences of illegalization. How does the Thai legal system function? where does it connect to the internet? How do it's citizens react? are they for or against? if for, can the ban be enforced?