Investing in digital currency may be dangerous, warns Bank of Thailand
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) on Monday warned people to be careful when investing in digital currency as they may be at risk of revealing their personal information and unwittingly have a hand in money laundering.
BOT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput made this remark at "The Future of Financial System", a second episode of the Thailand Next virtual forum.
He said the central bank does not encourage people to use digital currencies, like Bitcoin, as legal tender as they could face losses due to high volatility in value.
"BOT will supervise the baht-backed Stablecoins under e-money regulations, so it meets each individual’s purpose of possessing digital currency,” he said.
He added that the central bank will play a key role in supporting the following changes in the future:
• More Open Data: Utilising data, which is considered a fifth important source, effectively.
• More Open Competition: Allowing new competitors, such as non-banking institutions, to compete in the financial market while enhancing banks' potential in the competition.
• More Infrastructure: Building infrastructure, such as the Central Web Service (CWS) and Digital Factoring Ecosystem, to support competition as well as develop services and innovations.
