The headline in The Bangkok Post “Digital asset trade imminent” appears at first glance to be bullish for the industry in the region but the report notes the bourse does not want to include cryptocurrencies:
“The SET says cryptocurrencies do not meet its product qualifications and could facilitate money laundering, while causing harm to the bourse’s image as a ‘high trust’ exchange.”
According to Cointelegraph, the exchange has laid out three criteria for listing asset backed tokens from approved companies; firstly the token must have an underlying asset that investors can “analyze on value”. It must be a “valuable product that supports economic activities”, and the product must “have benefits to society and the environment”.
Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG), an arm of Kasikorn Bank which has been working closely with the SET on blockchain projects, will be responsible for sourcing and screening products entering the new marketplace.
SET executive vice-president Kitti Sutthiatthasil stated that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin do not meet any of the criteria laid out. He cited money laundering as a major concern and stated that currency stability was also the reason for the omission:
“Thailand has a strong economy. As inflation has remained low and the Bank of Thailand’s measures to keep the baht stable have worked in the past, the SET has no reason to support cryptocurrencies at the moment.”
In fact, Thailand’s economy, which is highly dependent on tourism, has been battered over the last 12 months due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the Kingdom being largely closed to foreigners
