Bank of Thailand backs 1:1 baht stablecoin for settlement
Bank of Thailand will seek public comment by year-end on a 1:1 baht-backed stablecoin, initially limited to licensed financial institutions for settlement; about 5,000 QR accounts were suspended.
The Bank of Thailand plans to open a public consultation by the end of the year on a proposed digital stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Thai baht. The central bank would require any operating token to be fully backed by baht reserves and restrict initial issuance to licensed financial institutions for settlement use only.
Governor Vitai Ratanakorn announced the proposal on June 30 at a financial conference, outlining a phased approach that focuses first on settlement efficiency within the financial system. The bank will review the pilot results before considering broader retail or commercial use.
Regulators have tightened controls on cross-border mobile payments and require that personal QR-code payments in Thailand be conducted in baht. Between February 2025 and May 2026, authorities suspended about 5,000 Alipay and WeChat Pay accounts linked to peer-to-peer transfers in yuan and are working with those platforms to review transactions and identify possible breaches.
Payment service providers that process transactions in currencies not authorized for such transfers face corrective measures, fines, temporary suspensions or revocation of operating licenses. The Bank of Thailand will not issue licenses for retail foreign-exchange operations intended for speculative trading.
Facilitating transfers that settle speculative forex trades may breach the Exchange Control Act of 1942, which carries penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of 200,000 baht (about $6,012). Individuals who advertise or promote speculative currency trading could be prosecuted for fraud under a 1984 emergency decree, with penalties up to 10 years in prison and additional daily fines.
Background documents from the central bank indicate the full-reserve requirement aims to limit liquidity and credit risks associated with privately issued tokens. The phased rollout is designed to test settlement applications within regulated institutions before any expansion to consumers or businesses.
Governor Vitai Ratanakorn described the bank’s objectives in rolling out the framework and tightening payment rules: “We want to foster financial technology while maintaining strict control over consumer protection and domestic currency flows.”
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