Thailand in Plans to Introduce Its Own Digital Currency Exchange – SET

In a Bloomberg interview on Sunday, Peetathawatchai said that the SET plans to develop its own digital asset exchange, with additional exposure possibilities such as utility and investment tokens.

The SET’s digital asset exchange will have any direct ties to cryptocurrency markets, but it will have bitcoin.

The SET will be directly connected to the Thai Digital exchange, letting investors convert digital assets into cash before they start trading on the SET.

While some countries, like China, have been working towards banning cryptocurrencies altogether, several smaller economies, like El Salvador, set out to utilize this new business opportunity. Now, there seems to be a third category intending to take a more diplomatic approach towards the market for cryptocurrencies. In the third quarter of this year, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will establish Thai Digital Exchange (TDX), its own exchange for digital assets, with asset-backed investment tokens as the initial offering. Early last year, the SET announced intentions to build a digital asset trading platform, with a projected launch date of the second half of 2021. The firm stated at the time that its planned platform would not use cryptocurrency, stating that cryptocurrencies do not match its product requirements and might aid in money laundering.

After hinting at a centralised digital currency for over a year, the SET is moving towards introducing it soon. The President of the SET, Pakorn Peetathawatchai, elaborated on this in his recent interview with Bloomberg on Sunday. 

The SET does not want the influence of the unregulated market of cryptocurrencies on its new coin.

The Thailand Stock Market will have open connections with crypto exchanges. 

Many foreign exchanges are experimenting with the same idea, including the Swiss market, which received regulatory authorisation in September to operate SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).