Thai central bank warns commercial banks off crypto

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has issued a warning to commercial banks not to get involved with the trading of crypto assets.

Right now, the country’s central banking authority does not feel confident that its commercial banks, or its consumers, can safely engage with cryptocurrencies.

This comes despite the country recently vowing to focus on crypto-driven tourism in a bid to recoup losses from the pandemic.

BoT senior director Chayawadee Chai-Anant explained that commercial banks are responsible for their consumers’ deposits and the central bank is not as of yet sure how cryptocurrencies and digital assets should be handled.

While Thailand has been fairly ambivalent towards crypto regulation, but Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the country’s oldest commercial bank, previously bought a 51% stake in Bitkub, the biggest crypto exchange in the country.

However, BoT has not relented its objection to digital assets despite the genuine interest showed by local financial players. Just a week ago, BoT senior director Sakkapop Panyanukul cautioned businesses accepting crypto to be wary of doing so as the more crypto is used, the weaker BoT’s ability to oversee the economy becomes, posing a threat to the country.

Chai-Anant also warned that cryptocurrencies can be dangerous to consumers because of their inflationary qualities and the ever-growing risks of cyber theft. Just days ago, Bitmart, a large crypto exchange based in the Cayman Islands, was hacked, and lost $196m of consumer funds.

While Bitmart vowed to repay all consumers out of pocket, bigger exchanges have been known to simply excuse the losses and not restore any funds. While BoT has repeatedly objected to aggressive expansion of the crypto industry, Thailand has pronounced itself a crypto-friendly destination.

However, recent recommendations by the central bank do show that Thai consumers should be aware of the risks when dealing with cryptocurrencies.

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Written by Barney

Co-founder

Barney is co-founder of CryptoGamblingNews.com. When not at work he can usually be found behind a Nikon. He's won numerous international competitions for his photography and volunteers as a content creator for aid organisations in Africa.

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