The ThaiSecurities and Exchange Commission has made the decision to remove three major Cryptocurrencies from a list of digital currencies that are allowed to be used as ICO investments and in base trading pairs for digital asset trading, according to a new report from the Bangkok Post.
Indeed, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum Classic are technically no longer allowed for use in Thai ICOs. However, the Bangkok Post explained that “such removal does not have an impact on investors or businesses involved with digital assets, since there is still no authorised ICO and local digital exchanges [that] use BCH, ETC and LTC as base trading pairs.”
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Stellar Remain on the List of Authorised Cryptocurrencies
The list still allows Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Stellar to be used in ICO investing and as a base trading pair for registered digital asset exchanges. However, the Thai SEC clarified that these cryptocurrencies still do not have status as legal tender for payment.
The list of all seven approved cryptocurrencies was originally released in July of 2018. The criteria for which cryptocurrencies were selected based on several factors, including how many coins the asset could be traded with directly.
Other criteria included the technical design of each coin’s decentralized network and the coin’s market Liquidity ; the coins that have been removed on the list were reportedly done so ‘based on an assessment of cryptocurrency development, related news and other important factors.’
The Thai Government Has Taken A Mixed Attitude Toward Crypto in the Past
While this latest example of the Thai government’s actions in the cryptosphere could arguably be a protective move for the crypto industry, the Thai government’s attitude toward has been rather mixed.
Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the names of seven cryptocurrency firms that have been authorized to legally operate in the country. Five of them are crypto exchanges; two are cryptocurrency dealers. #bitcoin #Blockchainhttps://t.co/W4639j4ozW
— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) August 16, 2018
In mid-February, Finance Magnates reported that the Central Bank of Thailand requested that other financial institutions within the country refrain from engaging in “any business” involving cryptocurrencies. It also demanded that banks deny their customers the right to buy cryptocurrencies using credit cards.
Despite any efforts to quell its citizens’ involvement with cryptocurrencies, however, Thailand still ranks as the second-highest in terms of countries whose residents own cryptocurrencies. Finance Magnates reported in January that a global survey had revealed that 9.9 percent of Thai internet users own cryptocurrency.
