According to multiple media reports, Thailand and Hungary’s fintech organizations have signed a deal agreed to help introduce blockchain technology to their respective financial systems. This partnership will allow both parties to identify possible areas that will benefit both parties.
In addition, Chonladet Khemarattana, the President of the Thai Fintech Association, revealed that the country’s mobile payments, e-commerce, and digital currencies are growing at high speed. Hence, the international partnership is required to keep developing local financial technology.
The President added that 20% of crypto asset holders worldwide reside in Thailand. This places the country in the eighth position in the latest World Crypto Adoption Index published last month by analytics company Chainalysis.
Furthermore, crypto payments firm TripleA estimates that nearly 6.65% of Thai’s population are crypto holders. Earlier in the year, the Hungarian Blockchain Coalition was launched through the joint efforts of the country’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the National Data and Economy Knowledge Centre.
Last month, the country’s apex bank and some other commercial banks in the country worked together towards the potential launch of a cross-border national digital currency transaction platform built on DLT. In August 2022, Thailand’s apex bank also revealed that it was searching for a way to begin the test phase of a small-scale national digital currency by the end of the year.
However, it will be limited to the non-government sector, which has nearly 10k users. The bank will run the test phase of the digital currency with “cash-related activities,” especially payment for products and services.
Thailand And Crypto Regulation
Since the beginning of this year, Thailand’s financial regulator has placed some limitations on the use of cryptocurrency. It even banned the use of any crypto for payments earlier in the year.
According to the commission, crypto can destabilize Thailand’s financial sector. The commission also keeps an eye on the country’s crypto lending companies. The TSEC plans to stop Cryptocurrency exchanges from supporting or giving digital asset depository services.
Like Thailand, Hungary regulators have the same harsh laws on the crypto industry. Earlier this year, the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, György Matolcsy, suggested a general clampdown on all cryptocurrency mining and trading across Europe.
Matolcsy claimed that cryptocurrencies are used for illegal activities and are speculative. This is probably because of the high rate of crypto scams and frauds recorded in the past years.