Bank of Thailand Allows Financial Companies to Deal in Cryptocurrencies

If you have no faith in cryptocurrencies due to a lack of banking regulations, then this news will change your opinion.

We have covered extensively about Japan’s love for cryptos and South Korea’s changing stance on dealing with cryptocurrencies, but these are not the only Asian countries making waves in the world of cryptos.

Thailand is setting the bar high for crypto regulation

According to Blognone, a local Thai news agency, The Bank of Thailand has allowed the country’s regional banks to set up subsidiaries to deal with cryptos.

This is a major move for a country where cryptocurrencies are already being used extensively for quite some time. In fact, Thailand’s largest cinema has begun to accept bitcoin as a form of payment.

This new development will push more businesses and individuals to use cryptocurrencies in the future.

Under the new regulations, Thai banks will have the permission to issue new tokens, manage and run businesses related to cryptos, invest in cryptos and even provide brokerage services. However, they will have to do it all through subsidiaries and not directly.

It should be mentioned here that financial institutions, including banks, are still not permitted to deal with cryptos directly.

Banks can provide crypto-related services only through crypto branches that are not permitted to deal directly with the public. Under these new regulations, the subsidiaries will be allowed to deal only with approved businesses. Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission and Thai Securities and Exchange Commission will be working on approving business permitted to deal in cryptos.

The government earlier released a new framework that classified cryptos as “digital assets and digital tokens.” This new classification puts them under the regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The new regulations are pretty complex, and while they do not openly allow banks to deal in cryptos, they are a move in the right direction.

Banks can change the landscape of cryptos. Look at how things changed in Switzerland when the Swiss bank started to deal in cryptos.

The Bank of Thailand Has Major Plans

The Bank of Thailand earlier announced plans to come up with a digital currency of its own. The bank hopes to be able to reduce transaction costs by using its own cryptocurrency.

The government also regulated ICOs earlier in the year. The landscape looks great, and the country appears to be full of opportunities for people and businesses who wish to invest in cryptocurrencies.

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