In an ongoing effort to carve out a regulated crypto market for the general public, the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments. Parallelly, the Commission proposed a new rule that demands disclosure of service quality and IT usage information from crypto businesses including brokers, exchanges and dealers.

According to the notice issued by the Thai SEC, businesses in the region have been advised against accepting crypto payments from April 2022 after discussing its implications with the Bank of Thailand (BOT).

The joint study conducted by the BOT and SEC concluded that:

“[Crypto payments] may affect the stability of the financial system and overall economic system including risks to people and businesses.”

Some of these risks highlighted by the SEC include loss of value caused by price volatility, cyber theft, money laundering and personal data leakage. Once implemented, businesses in Thailand will be barred from — advertising accepting crypto payments and establishing systems, tools and wallets to facilitate crypto transactions. 

Businesses found in noncompliance with the new crypto laws will be subject to legal actions including temporary suspension or cancellation of the services:

“However, the BOT and the SEC, as well as other government agencies, recognize the benefits of technologies behind digital assets such as blockchain and value and support the use of technology to further innovation.”

Moreover, the Thai SEC proposal aims to further ensure investor security by gauging the quality of…