Thailand Launches Nationwide Crypto-to-Baht Sandbox to Attract Digital-Asset Tourists
The regulatory sandbox allows foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrencies into Thai baht for spending via e-money, under strict oversight and spending limits.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bank of Thailand have jointly launched a nationwide crypto sandbox to allow foreign tourists to convert digital assets into Thai baht for local spending.
The programme expands a prior pilot in Phuket and operates under a regulatory sandbox framework combining oversight from multiple agencies including the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Eligible visitors must open accounts with licensed digital asset operators and e-money providers, both regulated by the SEC and the central bank, respectively.
Digital assets must be converted into baht before use; direct payments in cryptocurrency remain prohibited.
Converted funds can be spent electronically using QR code payments and mobile wallets.
The sandbox enforces Know-Your-Customer and anti-money laundering checks.
Spending limits are set at fifty thousand baht per month for small merchants and five hundred thousand baht per month at verified merchants.
Tourists may not withdraw baht-based balances as cash until the account is closed.
The sandbox trial will run for up to eighteen months, with the possibility of extension based on review.
Financial data indicates that digital asset ownership is rising globally.
In 2024, holders increased from five hundred eighty million to six hundred seventeen million, while total market value peaked at approximately three point seven trillion US dollars.
Thailand’s tourism sector, which welcomed more than thirty-five million foreign visitors in 2024—generating around one point six seven trillion baht—remains below the pre-pandemic levels of nearly forty million tourists and one point nine one trillion baht in revenue in 2019.
The public consultation period for the proposal closed in mid-August after being opened in July.
Tourism authorities have cited the decline in arrivals—especially from China, Thailand’s largest source market—as a key driver for the initiative.
In parallel, the government is exploring options for tourists to spend cryptocurrencies via credit-card facilities.
Under the proposal, tourists would connect digital assets to payment cards, allowing merchants to receive baht settlements without handling cryptocurrency directly.
The programme expands a prior pilot in Phuket and operates under a regulatory sandbox framework combining oversight from multiple agencies including the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Eligible visitors must open accounts with licensed digital asset operators and e-money providers, both regulated by the SEC and the central bank, respectively.
Digital assets must be converted into baht before use; direct payments in cryptocurrency remain prohibited.
Converted funds can be spent electronically using QR code payments and mobile wallets.
The sandbox enforces Know-Your-Customer and anti-money laundering checks.
Spending limits are set at fifty thousand baht per month for small merchants and five hundred thousand baht per month at verified merchants.
Tourists may not withdraw baht-based balances as cash until the account is closed.
The sandbox trial will run for up to eighteen months, with the possibility of extension based on review.
Financial data indicates that digital asset ownership is rising globally.
In 2024, holders increased from five hundred eighty million to six hundred seventeen million, while total market value peaked at approximately three point seven trillion US dollars.
Thailand’s tourism sector, which welcomed more than thirty-five million foreign visitors in 2024—generating around one point six seven trillion baht—remains below the pre-pandemic levels of nearly forty million tourists and one point nine one trillion baht in revenue in 2019.
The public consultation period for the proposal closed in mid-August after being opened in July.
Tourism authorities have cited the decline in arrivals—especially from China, Thailand’s largest source market—as a key driver for the initiative.
In parallel, the government is exploring options for tourists to spend cryptocurrencies via credit-card facilities.
Under the proposal, tourists would connect digital assets to payment cards, allowing merchants to receive baht settlements without handling cryptocurrency directly.
