Thailand Central Bank has planned to overhaul its crypto laws to grant more powers to the central bank. Reports have suggested that the new amendments to the regulation will include Central Bank to be a part of it.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith mentioned in an interview about the planned amendments. Additionally, the government will also include stringent regulations over the cryptocurrency platforms which also offer other tokens.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is at the moment the only regulating agency that has the sole mandate to supervise the industry under the rules passed in 2018, and now the agency has been asked to take the lead on the overhaul.
This move was pending as the tightening of the rules was called forth when Thailand authorities were criticised for not being prompt enough when crypto exchange Zipmex had suspended its withdrawals.
Tighter Crypto Laws To Ensure Investor Protection
The Finance Minister of Thailand has also mentioned in the interview that these increased regulations are not intended to curb the industry’s growth. Thailand also doesn’t want to restrict innovations and technology in the industry. These regulations are aimed at ensuring investors’ greater protection.
Recently, crypto exchange Zipmex has lifted a freeze on transactions and has also filed for a moratorium in Singapore for protection from creditors against any lawsuits. This shall help Zipmex find some time for raising funds.
Other factors were also responsible for the decision to bring the Bank of Thailand on board due to the downturn that made traders lose close to $2 Trillion. Crypto lenders too were affected considerably owing to the crypto winter.
Big names such as Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Zipmex have left many investors in a fix with their funds. Reports have even suggested that the number of active trading accounts has fallen from 700,000 to 230,000 in half a year.
Thailand Has Adopted Crypto Consistently Despite Tighter Regulation
Thailand has experienced trouble with crypto exchanges in the past. Thailand has still been quick to issue licenses to exchanges. Reportedly, the country has now approved four more crypto operators in the previous week. Currently, with the new approval, the total number of licenses for digital asset operators has reached 21. This number also includes three fund managers, nine exchanges and nine brokers.
The need for the updated regulation also came in because, at the present moment, the Central Bank does not accommodate the regulatory framework apart from notifying that crypto is not a legal mode of payment for goods and services.
This framework lacks clarity and is too enough to regulate the industry so the industry needs to receive an overhaul. Many digital asset firms have also tried to forge artificial trading volumes, SEC fined Bitkub for doing the same. This makes it an absolute necessity for Thailand Central Bank to increase investor protection through stringent rules.
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