[Blockchain Today Reporter Ji-Hye Han] Thai financial regulators are preparing to tighten regulations that restrict the creation of new accounts in cryptocurrency asset transactions. Cointelegraph reported this.
Reportedly, the state’s anti-money laundering office (AMLO) announced that starting in July, cryptocurrency exchanges should use’deep chip’ machines to directly verify the identity of new customers.
New users can now submit documents online to verify their identities on cryptocurrency exchanges, but deep chip machines require customers to actually go through the verification process by scanning the chip embedded in Thai citizen ID cards. New rules could prevent foreign investors who could not obtain a Thai ID card from gaining access to the country’s exchanges.
Lawmakers also seem eager to apply the same rules for gold sales of more than 100,000 baht (about $3,200). Some gold merchants located in the capital Bangkok are already using deep chip machines to verify their identities.
In Thailand, as the popularity of cryptocurrency assets increases, regulations are tightening, and accounts on Thai cryptocurrency exchanges are rapidly increasing from 160,000 at the end of 2020 to nearly 700,000 at the end of May. Industry executives have expressed concern that the new regulations will suppress the growth of Thailand’s cryptocurrency sector.
“Most digital asset exchanges are busy preparing their systems to accommodate growing customers as new account applications continue to flow,” said Poramine Insom, co-founder and director of Thai cryptocurrency exchange Satang Corp. Do. But as the application process becomes more complex, this growth can be hindered.”
The Thai Digital Asset Operators and Trade Association plans to hold discussions on such regulations at a forum to be held in the future to stimulate dialogue with regulators such as the stock exchange and AMLO.
Bitkub, Thailand’s largest trading company, temporarily suspended by the SEC in January, declined to comment on the new KYC requirements, citing that the new rules have not yet been officially implemented. In mid-March, the central bank illegalized the use of stable coins linked to Thai baht.
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