11 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

As I see it, cryptos can fluctuate greatly in value in short periods of time.

 

You could be paying way over the odds...... or selling a coin (or rather parts of a coin) only to miss out on a 10% jump in just a day or two.

All the more reason to allow the traders to trade in crypto and retain the crypto they receive. I know it isn't going to happen of course, I am being rhetorical. 

 

Not yet anyway....give it time. Eventually they won't have a choice or get left behind.

35 minutes ago, beammeup said:

This isn't about weather crypto is a good investment or not. There are billions of people who don't have a bank accounts. They can also use stable coins.

You can add many of Thailand's expats to that list these days lol. Beyond me why so many just can't see what's going on. Things are changing and the powers that be are nervous. 

1 hour ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

That's not a spending cap on the tourist.

 

 

 

Yeah my bad.. I read it wrong.

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

 

As I see it, cryptos can fluctuate greatly in value in short periods of time.

 

You could be paying way over the odds...... or selling a coin (or rather parts of a coin) only to miss out on a 10% jump in just a day or two.

 

It works both ways, if Bitcoin is sky high at the moment the amount of Baht you could get would be advantageous. Crypto can go down as well as up.

 

Of course investors expect crypto to just go up, but that's not going to happen, it will also go down.

Big spending tourists limited to 50k a month...

12 hours ago, blaze master said:

What coins will be acceptable in this fantastic idea ?

Crypto ones...

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Business World
 

Thailand is seizing the crypto trend by letting tourists spend their digital coins directly on everything from pad Thai to plush resorts.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Bank of Thailand (BoT) are introducing a crypto sandbox programme to enhance tourism and pump fresh cash into the local economy.

 

On July 15, Anek Yuyuen, SEC's Deputy Secretary General, revealed that this initiative will enable visitors to transform their digital assets into Thai baht for smooth spending.

 

“This project will help support economic recovery and strengthen our tourism sector,” Yuyuen stated.

Tourists will create accounts with licensed digital operators under strict regulation from the SEC, transacting through e-money providers monitored by the BoT. Adherence to stringent anti-money laundering checks via Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols is mandatory for all.

 

With a monthly spending cap of 50,000 baht on the Thai QR Code system, visitors can easily pay small merchants. Merchants who undergo additional verification can accept payments up to 500,000 baht per month.

 

This sandbox initiative is a strategic move to position Thailand as a prime destination for digital asset enthusiasts. Holding the highest cryptocurrency ownership in Asia, Thailand ranks fifth globally.

 

Recent data highlights the potential benefits: In 2024, Thailand welcomed 35.54 million tourists, generating 1.67 trillion baht. Despite recovery, these numbers are shy of the 1.91 trillion baht from 2019. Officials believe streamlined crypto spending could bridge this gap, according to The Nation.

 

“This initiative is expected to enhance Thailand’s appeal for digital-savvy tourists,” Yuyuen explained, adding that public consultation will run until August 13.

 

Merkle Capital's Investment Advisor, Woramet Chanseng, praised the sandbox as a step toward establishing Thailand as a digital asset hub. “The experiment opens the door for fresh capital inflows, increasing baht demand,” he commented. “It might also pave the way for a future digital baht.”

 

Nevertheless, Woramet cautioned that hurdles such as complex verification processes for travellers and merchants persist.

 

Should the sandbox succeed, officials anticipate Thailand will emerge as a major player in the global digital economy.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-07-17

 

 

Thailand the HUB of the stupid ideas and talking BS. 

Two words: Money Laundering

12 hours ago, blaze master said:

What coins will be acceptable in this fantastic idea ?

Monopoly money & pikachus

3 minutes ago, MarkBR said:

Monopoly money & pikachus

 

Bitcoin is currently 118k usd. Easily cashed out through bitkub into real thai baht

 

Hardly monopoly money my man

 

Since the majority of nations around the world have been accepting crypto for quite some time now, for a variety of transactions, it is certainly about time for Thailand to hop on that bandwagon, and there's no doubt that it will increase tourism by at least 1,000 people per year. 

 

However it still won't attract the rich tourists that Thailand desperately seeks, and as I've stated many times previously there are at least a dozen good reasons why they avoid Thailand. I love it here and if I were a tourist I would like to visit, but if I were a wealthy tourist there are just too many other options. 

It's always a rather surprising and astonishing thing to see progress coming from dinosaurs. 

23 minutes ago, blaze master said:

 

Bitcoin is currently 118k usd. Easily cashed out through bitkub into real thai baht

 

Hardly monopoly money my man

 

I'd argue that the monopoly money is the stuff you call 'real'. Other than that can't argue with $118,000 . 

7 minutes ago, Conno said:

I'd argue that the monopoly money is the stuff you call 'real'. Other than that can't argue with $118,000 . 

 

Fair.

I'm sure all of these people with crypto are going to want to fill out a bunch of paperwork. What government pencil pusher came up with this scheme?

I can imagine all the tourists buying their Starbucks latte with crypto then getting home and filing a few pages of capital gains reports for their home country tax collection.

That's a great idea and could work really well if done properly, but what are the chances of that?

Another day, another fad. Yesterday it was weed (backfired), then it was Indians (backfired), now it's crypto bros (will backfire). They just don't get it: normal decent tourists don't need bs encouragement: fix the Thai baht (about 20% overvalued), cut the insane 400% tax on imported alcohol, enforce traffic laws and taxi mafia shenanigans, and they will come. Stupid campaigns like this do nothing - fix the inherent problems if you want tourists.

3 hours ago, blaze master said:

Bitcoin is currently 118k usd. Easily cashed out through bitkub into real thai baht

Hardly monopoly money my man

Temporary. The ones cashing out now will keep their gains. The ones who wait will be left with nothing eventually. Bitcoin is useless as a currency, it's just a ponzi scheme that is terrible for the environment (energy usage). It will burst, probably soon.

13 hours ago, KhaoHom said:

Another farcical idea.

 

How many tourists will avail themselves to this? Probably next to zero.

 

According to the article Thailand itself is only fifth in crypto - in the region.

 

Thailand needs to stop dreaming, challenge the existing status quo and change, innovate. Drop the convoluted ideas.

 

Tourists are simple, working and middle class people and always will be.

 

Get a grip

 

You need to work on your reading comprehension.  Get a grip. 

 

"Holding the highest cryptocurrency ownership in Asia, Thailand ranks fifth globally"

27 minutes ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Temporary. The ones cashing out now will keep their gains. The ones who wait will be left with nothing eventually. Bitcoin is useless as a currency, it's just a ponzi scheme that is terrible for the environment (energy usage). It will burst, probably soon.

 

People have been saying that for over 10 years now. Also it is helping drive new innovations in green tech. 

5 hours ago, blaze master said:

 

Bitcoin is currently 118k usd. Easily cashed out through bitkub into real thai baht

 

Hardly monopoly money my man

 

 

Do you need a Thai bank account, which tourists can't get, to "cash out" Bitcoin?

19 hours ago, webfact said:

...Tourists will create accounts with licensed digital operators under strict regulation from the SEC, transacting through e-money providers monitored by the BoT. Adherence to stringent anti-money laundering checks via Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols is mandatory for all...

 

Does this mean that tourists, who are not allowed to open a Thai bank account, will be given the opportunity to "create accounts with licensed digital operators under strict regulation from the SEC..."?

 

I have a feeling that by the time the "Adherence to stringent anti-money laundering checks via Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols" is completed, the tourist's three-week holiday will already be over.

45 minutes ago, Puccini said:

 

Do you need a Thai bank account, which tourists can't get, to "cash out" Bitcoin?

 

Yes. But to pay in coins you wouldn't need one. 

 

Thailand takes stupidity to new heights.

They talk of digital Baht plans for tourists but (unlike in the distant past) do not allow non-Thais to have a bank account and an ATM card - without overdraft facilities of course. A non-Thai needs a one-year visa, a letter from the immigration and possibly a work permit to park their own money in a local bank. And all this due to money laundering; well, seeing the non-existing queues at Swampi airport of money launderers, all this makes sense!
 
Any person above 60 cannot have a credit card, but minimum earners of Thai decent can have ten cards with a spending limit of 30,000 Baht each and - in many cases - are maxed out and the minimum earner cannot even serve the interest payments. 

What a hopeless joke again 😞 

22 hours ago, Conno said:

They will keep launching clueless initiatives like this instead of just doing a full on Dubai. A move which would actually bring real crypto wealth into the Kingdom. Very few crypto people are going to jump though these hoops, it's all about control as usual, a dying and broken fractional reserve debt based fiat system trying to cling on for just that little bit longer. Not isolated to just Thailand though,  BTC from 0 to $123,000 in 16 years tells you all you need to know. Keep trying to hold the tide back Thailand, good luck with that.  

 

You can gush about crypto all you want but the truth is only a tiny fraction of people own crypto and only a tiny fraction of a fraction of crypto owners actually use it to buy any thing.. 

19 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Temporary. The ones cashing out now will keep their gains. The ones who wait will be left with nothing eventually. Bitcoin is useless as a currency, it's just a ponzi scheme that is terrible for the environment (energy usage). It will burst, probably soon.

Bro C'mon 5555. You ain't seen anything yet. With time it is going to attract wealth from every other financial sector out there.  You are clearly only focusing on price and nothing else. Price is just the side effect of Bitcoins incredible qualities as a from of money. The best form of money that so far humanity has come up with, yes including Gold and Silver [I hold both too of course as they were the best until 16 years ago] 

 

Going to zero soon eh? Tell you what here's the deal. I have taken a screenshot of your post to remind myself to get back to you. Do the same if you wish. I'll message you when we hit $1m per coin or alternatively you can message me when it hits zero. Deal?  No point arguing in the here and now as time will decide if you were correct or not.

 

You know there are a few sayings related to Bitcoin that you should maybe keep in mind.

1. Better to have some just incase it catches on and....

2. Better to have some and not need it than to need it and not have some. 

 

An addressable $9 Trillion market is about to enter the scene and it won't even end there.

I posted this meme some time ago when Bitcoin was at a considerably lower price than the ATH of $123,000 it hit this week.

 

I thought it might be worth keeping considering the no-coiner posts that are guaranteed to show with every new Bitcoin AN thread that arrives.  

 

Worth posting again I think, but with an addition this time. He's now holding a very interesting placard.  

 

3 hours ago, Conno said:

With time it is going to attract wealth from every other financial sector out there.

Why? What's the value proposition? It has higher fees than when I use banks, I have to worry about paying tax every time I want to use it because it's taxed as an asset, not a currency. It's way too volatile to be used as a stable currency. Real world applications are limited to mostly shady stuff - you're not going to buy groceries with Bitcoin. Etc etc etc. Just the volatility and tax worries guarantee most people would never view it as a currency.

4 hours ago, Conno said:

2. Better to have some and not need it than to need it and not have some. 

I keep hearing this mantra pumped by people who are already heavily invested into it. But answer this question: why would I ever NEED it? aside from investment.

PingRoundTheWorld - My general reply is give it time, as all of your points are describing the state of play as of today. It's a revolutionary new technology, it is evolving and will continue to evolve, it already has. Look at where we are today compared with 16 years ago.  Yes you are kind of correct regarding the tax angle, but that depends on your jurisdiction. Living in the UAE or El Salvador and now Thailand too for the next 4 1/2 years at least, you won't have to worry about tax. The old legacy system is terrified of Bitcoin which is why we have seen so much pushback, but that is changing fast and I believe it is unstoppable in the long run.

 

Even if you don't see a use case for it currently, you have to admit the speed at which it is being adopted in relative terms is off the scale and accelerating. Naturally it isn't going to replace the current system in the blink of an eye, but in my opinion given enough time it could very well do just that. Not as it stands today, but what it will potentially evolve into. 

 

The answer to why you would ever need it is in this video. Let Tony Yazbeck tell you why you need it. If you don't see that as an immediate danger for yourself personally then great, don't buy any as it makes no difference to me but I hope you never do need it. However after saying that I'm not your enemy, I'm only trying to empower you. Take it or leave it. I started buying BTC in early 2019 at $4000 so yea I'm one of those folks you are talking about but you are still not too late.

 

One last point I'll make, I don't know how old you are but at a guess you are probably not a youngster, me neither. The second video I will post below is a much watch too. Jack Maller's presentation is a speech on how the younger generations are feeling in 2025. Don't underestimate them.