[2018-03-30] Thailand Approves Draft Decree on Crypto

[nickbelski]

The Thai cabinet has approved a draft decree to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. The definition of digital assets has been modified from the previous draft but the tax structure remains. All crypto businesses must obtain licenses and report information to the anti-money laundering office.

Royal Decree to Regulate Crypto Approved

The Thai cabinet has approved a draft of a royal decree to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), according to local media.

Finance Minister Mr. Apisak Tantivorawong revealed that no major changes have been made to the draft proposed by his ministry earlier this month. The only significant change is the definition of digital assets, which is now “cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, removing other assets such as electronic data, as specified in the previous draft,” the Bangkok Post reported. The decree will be published in the Royal Gazette, after which it will become law. The news outlet conveyed the minister’s explanation:

"The new law to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and digital tokens is necessary to prevent money laundering, tax avoidance and crime…The new law is not meant to prohibit cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other digital asset-related translations, but to protect investors."

Mr. Apisak added that his ministry and the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are working on “laws that require all digital asset transactions, including those of digital asset exchanges, brokers and dealers, to be registered with relevant authorities,” the news outlet noted.

Thai Rath elaborated, “Those involved in all digital currency businesses, such as dealers or digital currency exchanges must obtain a license from the [Thai] SEC or a foreign currency dealer. They must report the source of the assets and the amounts of transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Office,” adding that “the government wants to protect retail investors.”

See more: https://news.bitcoin.com/thailand-approves-draft-decree-crypto/

[thefaucetrunner]

Sounds like good news. Thailand has been one of the most accepting of cryptos, considering its support for OmiseGO. Paying taxes on digital coin is not fun or even moral to some, but it is a sign that the government tolerates its existence.

[jjacob]

Sounds like good news. Thailand has been one of the most accepting of cryptos, considering its support for OmiseGO. Paying taxes on digital coin is not fun or even moral to some, but it is a sign that the government tolerates its existence.

Paying taxes is inevitable. Even if a government has no laws / regulations on cryptocurrencies, they will levy profits on the sale of any assets. So even before this legislation was introduced, people would have been liable to pay taxes on their Bitcoin profits. What legislation on cryptocurrencies brings is certainty. So now, businesses can operate with confidence, without the threat of an impending crackdown.

[1Referee]

Slowly but surely we'll be seeing how the entire crypto market is going to evolve into something that will be regulated to the core, and that's all right. If you want to be taken seriously as new asset class, then this is the only way to achieve it. Great thing is that you don't necessarily need to make use of the centralized ecosystem, especially with how local markets and decentralized exchanges start to gain more popularity and actual volume/usage. I am glad that the majority of my holdings haven't seen an exchange an +4 years, where before sending any coins to my cold wallets, they are being mixed first. I want to keep that part under the radar basically for ever, and it feels great. I am not looking to sell or spend any of them in the coming years, so there is nothing that I will be missing out on.

[LoveKamil]

We can say that the authorities are wrong, but they just want to save their currency, thus saving the world economy.

[Alex077]

The Thai cabinet has approved a draft decree to regulate cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. The definition of digital assets has been modified from the previous draft but the tax structure remains. All crypto businesses must obtain licenses and report information to the anti-money laundering office.

Sometimes Thailand bans cryptocurrencies and sometimes starts developing the draft law. Good thing that this country doesn't affect the world's ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.

[richardsNY]

We can say that the authorities are wrong, but they just want to save their currency, thus saving the world economy.

Saving the world? From what? The world needs to be saved from money hungry governments trying to dictate people's lives with iron fist. I am not anti government at all, but strongly disagree with their approach and hunger for unjustified control of our wealth. In a rapidly changing world, we no longer need central entities to maintain our wealth -- we have everything to be our own bank, and that's something people fail to get. By using Bitcoin we save humanity from governmental tyranny, and I'm happy that we have that option. No one will be able to prevent you from making and taking payments, regardless of who you are. Try that with PayPal or a bank account....

[Proton2233]

We can say that the authorities are wrong, but they just want to save their currency, thus saving the world economy.

How can Thailand save the world economy? The government of Thailand to save their personal interests. They saw that people had the opportunity to have additional income and want to take away a part of this money. How can we say in a positive sense that the government wants to take away some of your money? Maybe they are now willing to share the risk of loss of our money?

[Sorento]

I knew before now that regulation of cryptocurrency will be inevitable but i believe it will give it a little bit of stability