Regulators worry about financial stability if binary Baht spread
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday a ban on using cryptocurrencies and other digital assets as a means of making payments. Trade in the digital currencies will continue to be permitted, but as assets only. The ban goes into effect on April 1, but digital assets payment operators will be given a grace period through the end of the month. A statement from the SEC said the regulatory body, along with the Bank of Thailand (BOT), saw the need to supervise and control the use of cryptos as a means of payment for goods and services to ensure stability of the financial system and the economy as a whole. According to regulators, digi-Dollars and binary Baht undergo unhelpfully volatile price fluctuations, are at risk of theft or data leaks, and may aid criminals in money laundering. The SEC reasoned that the development of any unit of pricing outside the official currency, the Thai Baht, would increase the cost of economic activities and reduce the efficiency of monetary policy transmission.
