Thailand has banned the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services, noting tokens could pose a threat.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency that oversees capital markets in the Southeast Asian nation, made the announcement Wednesday (March 23).
The SEC said it has discussed the risks and benefits of digital assets with the Bank of Thailand (BOT). Both determined that there’s a need to regulate the use of digital assets as a medium for payment of goods and services because it may impact the stability of the financial system and the overall economy.
These factors include not only the risk of loss of value caused by price volatility but also the potential theft of personal data leakage or being used as a tool of money laundering, the SEC said.
In a March 3 meeting, the SEC said it resolved to outlaw digital asset operations.
“Digital asset business operators must not provide services or act in a manner that promotes the payment of goods and services with digital assets, such as advertising, soliciting or presenting itself to be available to pay for goods or services to merchants or establishing a system or tool to facilitate the payment of goods and services,” the SEC wrote.
Digital asset business operators who provide these services must cease operations by April 1.
After initially banning crypto, Russia granted a cryptocurrency exchange license to Sberbank, telling the lender it could launch its own token.
Read more: In About-Face, Russia’s Central Bank Issues Crypto Licenses
The country’s largest retail bank has been challenged by the sanctions that have crippled the country’s financial sector and economy.
Those factors have been why it received approval one month after central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina ignored President Vladimir Putin’s instructions to work with the Finance Ministry as it sought to legalize cryptocurrency by creating a formal regulatory framework.
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