The Bank of Thailand includes USDT in regulatory monitoring, strictly investigating "gray area" fund flows

On January 13, the Bank of Thailand has incorporated the stablecoin USDT into its capital flow monitoring framework as part of efforts to combat “gray funds.” According to local media reports, the central bank found that approximately 40% of USDT sellers on Thai platforms are foreign traders, and such activities “should not occur in Thailand.” The central bank governor stated that stablecoins are now subject to stricter scrutiny alongside cash, gold transactions, and electronic wallet fund flows. Although the domestic crypto market size is small, there is a potential for these assets to be used for illegal or gray fund flows, which could impact macroeconomic stability in the long term. This action follows the Thai government’s directive issued on January 9, which mandates stricter reporting and wallet identity verification rules for digital asset and gold transactions. The relevant regulations are being jointly promoted by the Bank of Thailand, tax authorities, and other agencies.