[2022-03-23]Thailand Bans Use of Cryptocurrencies as a Method of Payment

[zasad@]

https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/News_Detail.aspx?SECID=9353&NewsNo=39&NewsYear=2565&Lang=TH
https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/thailand-bars-use-of-cryptocurrencies-as-a-method-of-payment
"(Bloomberg) -- Thailand will bar the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payments for goods and services, saying the wider use of digital assets threatens the nation’s financial system and economy.
While the restrictions on the use of digital currencies for transactions will be effective starting April 1, companies in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy will have until the end of April to comply with the new rules, the regulator said. It said the curbs on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for commercial transactions are in line with regulations in Europe, the U.K., South Korea and Malaysia. "

[Lucius]

I would not agree that this measure is in line with what exists in the EU and the UK (I'm not sure about South Korea and Malaysia), but such a measure was adopted by Turkey some time ago, in fact almost 1 year ago. I think it's just a reflection of their policies that seek to control people as much as possible - personally, I am not surprised that they are going in that direction.

I would not be surprised if such things come to the minds of some other politicians in some, at least on paper, much larger democracies in the West - but I hope that will not happen. Bitcoin is in the first place a cryptocurrency, and if people are forbidden to use it publicly in this way, then it is clear in which direction the policy of a country is going. It's just a step away from banning trading.

[SFR10]

or the system is interrupted causing a waste of opportunity

AFAICR, that has never happened before!

there is a chance that digital assets can be used for money laundering. and as a tool to finance terrorism

I'm sure we can all agree that there are other or rather better tools or ways to achieve such things ^{[in other words, it's just an excuse]}.

while the Bank of Thailand was one of the first central banks to develop a central bank digital currency ( CBDC)  as an infrastructure for further financial innovation.

As soon as I read the above line about "money laundering", I knew it probably has something to do with CBDC... AFAICS, they've been in the "pilot stage for the past three/four months", so I assume they're about to launch it ^{[hence the restrictions on cryptocurrencies]}!

[bustabitsboy]

I think that the government of this country believes that cryptocurrencies can negatively affect the financial system of the country and I am surprised that Thailand has not yet banned cryptocurrencies.This is their right, of course. Maybe the use of cryptocurrency is a threat to a country like Thailand. Perhaps they are afraid that they will not be able to control, receive taxes, or maybe they do not want to be interested in something new because they do not know what to do with it and how it works.

[DooMAD]

I suppose it's not all that surprising, given that Thailand's behaviour hasn't exactly been amicable towards BTC users in recent years.  Very much giving off an anti-freedom sort of vibe there.    

[Lucius]

@DooMAD, some of us still remember well our colleague from the forum who at one point disappeared saving his life from the very strict laws that this country has for many things, which include the death penalty. Come to think of it, I'm surprised they haven't declared Bitcoin illegal and imposed the death penalty on anyone who trades or pays with it - although they're well on their way to making it a reality one day.

[zasad@]

https://phangan.ru/
A useful portal that has been operating in Thailand since 2018 and there you can get any help, including exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat. The exchange of cryptocurrencies is not prohibited yet, but the tourist will have to pay additional fees.

[bbc.reporter]

This will be a similar problem for the governments of different countries around the world. How will the government of Thailand enforce the ban? They can use fud, however, how long will the people be in fear, uncertainty and doubt? I reckon much of the people will not be in fear if they see how high the coins in the cryptospace can pump hehehehe.

[Lucius]

How will the government of Thailand enforce the ban?

Quite simply, all legal entities are no longer allowed to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, and anyone who would continue to do so would be breaking the law. Given the penalties in that country, I don't think it will occur to anyone to try to do something illegal.

Of course, this does not mean that crypto transactions in that country will stop in terms of payment for goods and services, they will only take place privately between individuals. No government can prevent the use of Bitcoin for private purposes, that is the beauty of the whole system that can continue to operate despite any ban.

[buwaytress]

@DooMAD, some of us still remember well our colleague from the forum who at one point disappeared saving his life from the very strict laws that this country has for many things, which include the death penalty. Come to think of it, I'm surprised they haven't declared Bitcoin illegal and imposed the death penalty on anyone who trades or pays with it - although they're well on their way to making it a reality one day.

Indeed some of us do...

re Thai, I personally thought there has been slow signs of things relaxing in recent years and I say this in the loosest way possible, given just how strict they were in the past. I come from the region so I completely get where they were/are coming from. The only country in our nook of the world to never have been a colony of a foreign power, and they believe it was their strict policies and preservation of extreme control that's helped them do that (historians believe in several theories).

So it's a bit of a surprise to learn of this news... given how hot and heavy they wanted to be with blockchain/crypto regulations since 2017. So much for being a rival blockchain-crypto-emerging tech hub to Singapore.

P.S. Quite the opposite of what others have done (ban payment and not trading).

[mindrust]

This sounds like what Turkey did few months (or years maybe?) ago. It is not a full ban on using/trading crypto but businesses won't be able to take it as a payment. This kills the most important use case of the crypto currencies, the currency part. Without it, they are just crypto assets which you can buy and sell on the exchanges but can't buy real goods with them. I guess that's how they are planning to fight crypto. You can speculate on them but you can't use them as "money".

[bbc.reporter]

How will the government of Thailand enforce the ban?

Quite simply, all legal entities are no longer allowed to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, and anyone who would continue to do so would be breaking the law. Given the penalties in that country, I don't think it will occur to anyone to try to do something illegal.

Of course, this does not mean that crypto transactions in that country will stop in terms of payment for goods and services, they will only take place privately between individuals. No government can prevent the use of Bitcoin for private purposes, that is the beauty of the whole system that can continue to operate despite any ban.

The question was really something that does not need an answer. It is a challenge on how the government of Thailand can enforce a ban on cryptocurrencies where a group of people can use it for ICOs, Defi and NFTs. Will sending digital art or gift card tokens also be banned? What is their definition of cryptocurrencies.

The government of Thailand would be creating more problems for themselves and they might not have the budget and the knowledge to solve these problems. I predict the removal of these restrictions in 3 years.

[Lucius]

This sounds like what Turkey did few months (or years maybe?) ago.

The answer to your question can be found in post number 2 - some still do not read anything but the title, but maybe the problem is that some have too many members on ignore list ...

The question was really something that does not need an answer. It is a challenge on how the government of Thailand can enforce a ban on cryptocurrencies where a group of people can use it for ICOs, Defi and NFTs. Will sending digital art or gift card tokens also be banned? What is their definition of cryptocurrencies.

I've already answered you, but for some reason, you don't want (or can't) understand that no one can ban personal transactions or anything that happens privately. The thing is that this should not be done by business entities, and I guess it is logical that the law applies to all cryptocurrencies.

The government of Thailand would be creating more problems for themselves and they might not have the budget and the knowledge to solve these problems. I predict the removal of these restrictions in 3 years.

What problems? The law will be in force, anyone who does not respect it and is caught will be punished, whoever manages to get under the radar will not be punished, the thing is very clear. You underestimate Thailand as a country ruled by completely different rules, and @buwaytress described it well - they simply have a tradition of strict control that did not arise yesterday or 10 years ago.

[amishmanish]

Now this has cought attention. I wonder what could be the possible reason of the ban. I believe it’s the reluctance to loose control and embrace change and insecurity of possible economic frauds.  Government fear anonimity. China has outright made crypto illegal and thialand has followed the trend.

[DooMAD]

Now this has cought attention. I wonder what could be the possible reason of the ban. I believe it’s the reluctance to loose control and embrace change and insecurity of possible economic frauds. 

The simplest answer is often the most likely.  Those with power don't want to relinquish control over it.  It's interesting that governments either see Bitcoin as a threat or an opportunity, or they can't decide which it is.  Few want to ignore it anymore.  I guess that's something.

[crypver]

Now I know why we had such a high increase of users from Thailand in the past 4 weeks.

[bbc.reporter]

The question was really something that does not need an answer. It is a challenge on how the government of Thailand can enforce a ban on cryptocurrencies where a group of people can use it for ICOs, Defi and NFTs. Will sending digital art or gift card tokens also be banned? What is their definition of cryptocurrencies.

I've already answered you, but for some reason, you don't want (or can't) understand that no one can ban personal transactions or anything that happens privately. The thing is that this should not be done by business entities, and I guess it is logical that the law applies to all cryptocurrencies.

The government of Thailand would be creating more problems for themselves and they might not have the budget and the knowledge to solve these problems. I predict the removal of these restrictions in 3 years.

What problems? The law will be in force, anyone who does not respect it and is caught will be punished, whoever manages to get under the radar will not be punished, the thing is very clear. You underestimate Thailand as a country ruled by completely different rules, and @buwaytress described it well - they simply have a tradition of strict control that did not arise yesterday or 10 years ago.

I was agreeing with your reply. I was always telling everyone that enforcement of the law on cryptocoins transactions would be a problem for regulators. It would be harder if the coins used are anonymous coins similar to Monero. However, the question is how would the government define digital items by law. This is why I bring up digital art and gift cards which are really just software tokens which can be a problem depending on how the law defines it.

The law will be in force, yes, however can it be enforced or will it create more problems for the government? Similar to what you were saying, no can enforce the ban on transactions that are happening privately.

[Kakmakr]

I quote  ==> "The SEC said it decided to regulate and control the use of digital assets after discussing the "risks and benefits" with the Bank of Thailand, the central bank, according to a statement Wednesday. The risks cited include losses from price volatility, cybertheft and money laundering."

It just shows you who are controlling the governments and the politicians of this world. Satoshi Nakamoto saw how much control Banks had over the government and Satoshi created this technology to provide people with an alternative when those Banks eventually fail. You can only bail out Banks with tax payers money for a while, until the tax payers gets fed up with that... and then those governments will go down.    (Not by force, but by votes)

[Lucius]

The law will be in force, yes, however can it be enforced or will it create more problems for the government? Similar to what you were saying, no can enforce the ban on transactions that are happening privately.

I think you are overemphasizing the possible problems that could arise for the government from such a law, especially if we take into account that this is a country that has quite strict laws that have in some way made society obedient. Of course, there are always those who do something illegal, but they are a minority that the police and the judiciary are focusing on. Such a law has been in place in Turkey for more than a year, and I have not read anywhere that it has created any problems for their government.

You can only bail out Banks with tax payers money for a while, until the tax payers gets fed up with that... and then those governments will go down.    (Not by force, but by votes)

You underestimate people and their ability to forget very easily, which means that they can be very easily manipulated from a political perspective. Often people have no choice to choose someone better and fairer, because the alternative is sometimes a much worse choice. Democracy is just a nicely packaged fabrication for naive people who think they are deciding something - and with a few exceptions, everything else is a big lie.

[bbc.reporter]

The law will be in force, yes, however can it be enforced or will it create more problems for the government? Similar to what you were saying, no can enforce the ban on transactions that are happening privately.

I think you are overemphasizing the possible problems that could arise for the government from such a law, especially if we take into account that this is a country that has quite strict laws that have in some way made society obedient. Of course, there are always those who do something illegal, but they are a minority that the police and the judiciary are focusing on. Such a law has been in place in Turkey for more than a year, and I have not read anywhere that it has created any problems for their government.

Yes I might be, however, it does not change the reality that enforcement of the ban will be hard. Also, on my original argument, they will have no choice but to remove the law. The cryptospace is not something similar to illegal drugs where the government should ban it. It is unstoppable game changing technology. I speculate that the emergence of the cryptospace will be something similar to the fax machine. During the 1980s in America, it was said that it was decreed that fax messages were a type of mail and all fax machines were needed to be registered and stamped in the post office. The law was removed of course and I am certain it be similar to laws limiting the usage of the cryptospace.