Thai citizens to receive $300 in digital currency

Thailand’s parliament has elected a new prime minister — a real estate magnate and cryptocurrency advocate, Srettha Thavisin. AP News reports.

During the campaign, the prime minister-elect promised to distribute 10,000 baht (~$300) in digital assets to every citizen aged 16 and over. However, the funds could be spent only within four kilometres of home.

The government airdrop initiative totals around 500 billion baht (~$15 billion). The distribution will be in the national token, not in cryptocurrencies.

In June, the Bank of Thailand launched a pilot project for a retail CBDC within the regulatory sandbox. Testing involved more than 10,000 users from Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Siam Commercial Bank, and Singapore-based payments provider 2C2P.

The newly elected prime minister is the chairman of the opposition party Pheu Thai.

Before entering politics, Thavisin served as chief executive of the Sansiri property developer. In 2021 his company приобрела 15% акций of Thailand’s digital-asset service provider XSpring, which, together with Krungthai Bank, operates a crypto broker and a licensed ICO platform.

As of April 2022, businesses in Thailand were advised to stop accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Subsequently, authorities scrapped VAT on transfers of digital assets until the end of 2023. The regulation applies only if the transaction was conducted through a licensed crypto exchange.

In addition, crypto-service providers in Thailand prohibited from using client funds for lending and investment.