The governor of the Bank of Thailand has stated that the use of crypto won’t be used in the country for another three to five years.
The Time Is Not Right for Crypto
Veerathai Santiprabhob made his comments yesterday, according to a report from the Thai News Agency.
He admitted that while cryptocurrency was a success in some countries, it was not as easy as it sounded to implement. This was due to the technology and people’s willingness to embrace it.
Santiprabhob added that he didn’t believe that it will be used within the next three to five years. His comments come at a time when other nations are considering their own state-backed crypto assets.
Sweden, for instance, is fast-tracking the launch of its state-backed e-krona. Last year, it was reported that Sweden’s Riksbank was undertaking research on issuing its own cryptocurrency. Sweden is one nation that is seeing a decline in the use of cash.
However, Riksbank realizes that people still need access to a reliable form of money. It believes that with the launch of its e-krona, it will answer this need. Yet, it will take time to do so, as the bank has noted itself. According to Santiprabhob, the people of Sweden must first be prepared with the introduction of the state-backed crypto asset.
An EU Parliament report from July called for the introduction of central bank digital currencies to level the crypto market. It remains to be seen if and when that will happen. At the time, the reported stated:
The arrival of permissioned cryptocurrencies promoted by banks, even by central banks, will reshape the current competition level in the inter-cryptocurrency market, broadening the number of competitors.
Thailand to Issue Crypto Regulations
Even though Thailand isn’t issuing its own digital currency, it is looking into them for settling payments among financial institutions. This is according to Santiprabhob. He added that he hopes the first implementation of a cryptocurrency within financial institutions will take place during the first three months of 2019.
In June, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced regulations on crypto and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The aim is to control and regulate the industry and protect investors from unlicensed operators.
It remains to be seen what impact, if any, the introduction of a crypto asset in Thailand will have.
How long do you think it will take for a bank-issued crypto to be released in Thailand? Let us know in the comments below.
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