Digital baht of Thailand

Main article: National Cryptocurrencies (CBDC)

2024: In Thailand, citizens begin to distribute digital money for GDP growth. 50 million people will receive $13.8 billion

On July 15, 2024, Prime Minister Thailand Settha Thavisin announced the start of a program called Digital Wallet. As part of this initiative, citizens of the country will receive 10 thousand baht (approximately $278 at the exchange rate as of July 18, 2024) in national digital currency.

It is assumed that the crediting of the national digital currency to the electronic wallets of citizens will have a positive effect on the economic development of the country. The funds will be issued by approximately 50 million Thai citizens, and the total amount of funding will be about $13.8 billion. To receive digital money, users will need to install a special application on their smartphone. Citizens will be able to spend funds only within a radius of 4 km from the house at the place of residence within six months from the moment of receipt.

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At the same time, there are certain restrictions on the list of goods and services that can be paid for with digital money. The final list of exceptions will be determined by the country's Department of Commerce. In addition, there are strict requirements for how participating stores can use funds from purchases made using a digital wallet. In particular, outlets must re-spend this money at least once in other stores participating in the project.

It was originally planned that part of the necessary funding would cover the State Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives. However, financial experts criticized this idea. Therefore, it was decided that the financing of the program will be carried out at the expense of the budgets for 2024 and 2025. According to Thavisin, the implementation of the Digital Wallet initiative will raise Thailand's GDP by 1.2-1.6%.^[1]

2020: Central Bank of Thailand begins testing digital baht

In mid-June 2020, the Central Bank Thailand announced the start of national testing. cryptocurrencies To do this, a payment system for business has been created, which will use the digital currency of the central bank (CBDC). The basis will be the previous CBDC regulator - Project Inthanon. It is expected that the innovations will increase the flexibility and efficiency of business payments.

One of Accenture the largest blockchain projects in Thailand is Siam Cement's procurement solution, developed by the company's innovation division Digital Ventures in collaboration with. This project will be used to integrate B2B payments that use CBDC. The process should make it easier Corda from - R3 the technology used by both Project Inthanon and the Siam Cement blockchain platform.

Thailand's central bank announces start of testing of national cryptocurrency

The central bank says the launch of the digital bath should boost the competitiveness of Thailand's economy and the willingness of the business sector to enter the digital age. Most CBDC platforms focus on either wholesale CBDCs for financial institutions or retail CBDCs for everyday use. Thailand's central bank has gone its own way as it intends to provide CBDC for use by corporate blockchains without limiting members solely to banks.

In January, Project Inthanon completed the latest work in a joint CBDC project with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The results were successful - the new system made it possible to directly make bank payments without additional participating banks. The project involved two commercial banks in Hong Kong and eight in Thailand. New tests of the digital bath will begin in July 2020 and will last until the end of the year, after which the Central Bank of Thailand will publish a summary and results.^[2]

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