Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that cryptocurrency payments in the country will be banned from April 10 due to the risks of these digital currencies.

In a statement, the SEC said that businesses in Thailand will have to stop offering the possibility of paying with cryptocurrencies and include this prohibition in the terms of services and payment.

Among the risks, the regulator mentioned the instability caused by the fluctuation of the value of these digital currencies, cybercrime, exposure of personal data or their possible use for money laundering.

However, the authorities will allow investments in cryptocurrencies.

Thailand bans use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment #CryptoCurrencies via https://t.co/OOl17LYQIq https://t.co/bkhkcV4O7x

— Lau81 (@Lau81_) March 25, 2022

The move comes two weeks after the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) proposed that Russian tourists affected by the sanctions could pay with cryptocurrencies. However, TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn indicated that the idea was rejected by the government.

According to a DataReportal report, Thailand is the country in the world where a higher percentage of people own cryptocurrencies, with 20.1 % among those aged 16-64, followed by Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa with 19.4 %, Turkey (18.6 %), Argentina (18.5 %), Indonesia (16.4 %), Brazil (16.1 %) and Singapore (15.6 %).

“Cryptocurrencies are particularly popular in developing economies, especially in countries where conventional currencies are more exposed to large fluctuations in their prices,” says the report published last January.

-Thailand News (TN)