[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang] Thailand's central bank has designated USDT as a monitoring target as it moves to crack down on so-called grey funds, The Block reported on Jan. 13 (local time).
The Block said the move came after it was confirmed that a significant portion of stablecoin trading in Thailand is linked to foreign investors.
Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said about 40 percent of USDT sellers active on Thai platforms are foreigners and should not trade domestically. He said the central bank will closely monitor stablecoin transactions along with gold trades and e-wallet flows.
Thailand's crypto market sees average daily trading of 2.8 billion baht, a level that cannot be ignored even compared with the foreign exchange market of 10 billion to 15 billion baht. The Thai government plans to expand monitoring to gold trading and digital assets and track large financial flows.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr