Thai Authorities have been busy in 2018 as they implement new policies and enact laws to regulate Blockchain-based digital assets
As regulators around the world are still caught over the debate over what category digital currencies and assets should fall into,
Thailand seems to have skipped the debate altogether as authorities announce an emergency decree in the Royal Gazette
which officially defines both Cryptocurrencies (a medium of exchanging goods) and digital tokens (rights to participate in an investment, or to receive specific goods), resulting in new laws aimed to govern business operations related to this new form of digital assets.
Within a short period of time, the Thai Government has not only legalized few Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin
but authorities have made their priority to also regulate Initial coin offering, granting commercial licensing and amending new tax laws.
Visit this Article written by the CryptoHype that sums up Thailand surprising move of providing new legal framework for this disruptive technology.
As a leading Fintech Hub in South East Asia and fast-growing economy Thailand seems ripe for more Cryptocurrency adoption as would provide an alternative financial instrument especially for the those unbanked
I don't really get why they would only legalize the trading of 7 cryptocurrencies.
This is extremely weird in terms of policy-making, as they essentially give all the competitiveness to these 7 cryptocurrencies and completely ignore the rest when it comes to their legality.
I think that they're taking the right steps IF they are trying to regulate and amend crypto and the tax codes surrounding it, instead of outright banning it like some other nations are doing. Just not sure that they are doing it in the right way, though, by creating this disparity between certain cryptos. They would certainly attract more investors and businesses into their country after their crypto regulation is updated, and clarified.
However, it all depends on the details. If it was just a mere tax reform trying to bring more revenue by raising tax rates on crypto, then it could even negatively impact the crypto space within their country.