TL;DR Breakdown
- Thailand goes tougher on crypto.
- Crypto stakeholders raise concerns over rigid regulation.
Financial regulators in Thailand are completing the paperwork to ensure that in-person KYC (Know Your Customer) is mandated for crypto exchanges in the Asian country.
This development is geared towards tightening restrictions surrounding creating new accounts at crypto-asset exchanges.
Per local reports on Monday the 3rd of May in Thailand, the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) announced that crypto exchanges must verify the identities of new customers in-person using a “dip-chip” machine.
The current reality before the In-person KYC was mandated, was the verification of users’ identities on exchanges can verify users’ identity with documents that must have been submitted online.
However, the dip-chip machine now has to scan a chip embedded in Thai citizen ID cards, requiring that customers be physically present for the verification process.
The new rules may also prevent foreign investors who cannot obtain Thai ID cards from accessing exchanges in the country.
Beyond crypto, in-person KYC to be mandated for gold traders
Legislators in the country are also firing at cylinders to ensure that the same regulation applies with gold traders. Gold merchants in the country capital, Bangkok, already use dip-chip machines for identity verification.
These strict regulations come against the backdrop of crypto-asset becoming popular with the number of accounts with Thai crypto exchanges spiking from 160,000 at the end of 2020 to nearly 700,000 at the start of May.
Stakeholders raise concerns over regulation
Despite the in-person KYC check being in the pipework, stakeholders in the country have expressed concerns the new rules will stifle the growth of Thailand’s crypto sector.
Poramin Insom, co-founder and director of Thai crypto exchange Satang Corp, said exchanges are still trying to accommodate the growing number of clients as this regulation may curb the growth they are seeing.
The Thailand Digital Asset Operators Trade Association is also organizing a debate to discuss these regulations with regulatory agencies.
