Thailand in 2025 will allow tourists in Phuket to use cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services. This was announced by the Kingdom’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Pichai Chunhavajira, during a speech at a seminar of the country’s Marketing Association, The Nation reports.
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Transactions will be made in bitcoins as part of a pilot project. To use this cryptocurrency as a means of payment, foreign tourists will need to register with a local exchange and undergo identity verification, after which clearinghouses will convert the bitcoins into baht.
Pichai emphasized that cryptocurrency payments will not require changes to the country’s legislation. The Minister of Finance explained the need for the initiative due to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies among foreign tourists.
Pichai cited real estate payments as an example of how cryptocurrencies can be used. According to the head of the Ministry of Finance, those who fled the military operation in Ukraine and settled in Phuket may find it difficult to obtain 50 million baht to buy a house, and it is easier to make a payment in cryptocurrency.
According to forecasts from the Statista portal, the number of cryptocurrency holders in Thailand in 2028 could reach 17.67 million people, with a total population country of 71 million inhabitants. In 2024, 15.43 million people used cryptocurrencies in the kingdom. Services analysts expect the total revenue of the crypto market in Thailand in 2025 to reach $488.9 million.
Author:
Mikhail Zelenin
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
