Thailand seems to be one of the more Blockchain friendly countries in South East Asia, as the local Government has embraced the tech startup scene with some notable collaboration such as OmiseGo's partnership with the Central Bank of Thailand.
It remains unclear as to how financial institutions will cooperate with Crypto Exchanges but authorities have announced that they’re currently working on a regulatory framework regarding the supervision of digital currencies
It was back in 2013 when reports circulating online claimed that the Thai central bank has declared the use of bitcoin illegal in Thailand, when in fact Bitcoin was declared to not be ”legal tender” meaning that merchants are not obligated to accept payment in Bitcoin.
The Government is currently studying the potential benefits of Blockchain technology and has in 2014, lifted their stance on a Bitcoin ban to ‘permitted trading” however authorities were quick to declare that citizen are fully responsible for their personal loses when comes to high-risk digital currency investing.
Thai Central Bank now allows ”permitted trading” of Bitcoin but noted that buying bitcoin in Thailand and then selling it outside the country is still strictly prohibited, but the Government has since taken a more relaxed stance towards Cryptocurrencies when compared to its Asian neighbors, making the country a somewhat more ”Pro-Bitcoin”.
Tourism, which is Thailand second largest Industry has been a major contributor to the country’s Bitcoin adoption, as the community seems to have incentivized the development of better infrastructure among merchants to accept Cryptocurrencies
The Bitcoin community in Thailand is now thriving with four unregistered exchanges and two fully legal exchanges, with the first legal exchange in Thailand being opened by Bitcoin Co. Ltd. and second by Coins.Co.Ltd
To this date, Thailand has 2 companies that are granted a licensed Exchange and several independent services that resumed operations in Thailand after a softening of position by the BoT. With less strict regulation, Cryptocurrencies market have since become more established in Thailand as the country has a growing number of good local exchanges that record high liquidity for bitcoin trading pairs and a growing number of individuals who actively engage in trading Cryptocurrencies
Crypto Exchanges
Bitcoin.co.th
Operational since 2013, Bitcoin.co.th has become a popular Thailand-based Exchange that allows users to buy or sell Bitcoin using the local currency. It’s clear that Bitcoin.co.th is the most reputable exchange among locals as it records the highest liquidity for the Thai Bath/Bitcoin pair and is backed by a reputable team who are actively working with the local Government to ensure that the company continues to operate its bitcoin merchant services as a registered company in Thailand.
The Bank of Thailand denied Bitcoins Co., Ltd., the registered company the right to buy, sell, or exchange Bitcoins back in the year of 2013 and ever since that incident, the founders have the ambitious goal of becoming an SEC-approved ICO portal in Thailand as well as to obtain an official currency exchange license.
According to user reviews, Bitcoin.co.th has been around the longest and offers the easiest solution when it comes to purchasing Bitcoin but has announced that the growing demand led to the phase-out of their buy/sell BTC service as the company intends of using Bx.in.th as the preferred in-house trading platform. Basically, users registered on Bitcoin.co.th will end up trading on the newer exchange which got rebranded and is known as Bx.in.th. Besides providing a trading platform, Bitcoin.co.Ltd also owns Coinpay, a service that allows Merchants to accept a range of crypto-currencies as payment
Access to Bitcoin has been previously limited to only dealing with individuals, so it’s safe to say that Bitcoin Co. Ltd. was the first company to enter the Thai market allowing Thai citizens access to a digital marketplace to trade digital currencies
Go to Bitcoin.co.th
BX.in.th
Thailand’s most popular Crypto Exchange is technically owned by Bitcoin.co.Ltd but is classified to be its own independent Exchange, rebranding the new Exchange under the name of BX.in.th
Bitcoin.co.th and BX.in.th may have the same operators, but both exchanges have different goals that offer different experiences. Through BX.in.th, users can buy/sell Bitcoin through a digital marketplace that allows investors to take full advantage of the built-in trading tools powered by TradingView. Besides offering a Bitcoin trading platform, Bx.in.th also list ICO tokens in addition to traditional crypto-currencies and has become Bitcoin.co.th active Marketplace for users to buy/sell Bitcoin
This exchange is not as user-friendly as Bitcoin.co.th, but intended for more experienced traders who value advanced charting tools and lower trading fee. Thai citizens also get to enjoy the selection of digital currencies provided as Bx.in.th lists up to 25 alternative Crypto pairs, offering a wide variety of options for traders.
Having built a strong and open relationship with regulators has helped to forge Bx.in.th service today, as the exchange continues to dominate Thailand’s financial market when it comes to being a Crypto merchant payment solution and in the remittance business. Now that Bitcoin.co.th has ceased its buy/sell service for Bitcoin, BX.in.th acts as the backbone for the entire Cryptocurrency ecosystem in Thailand as it provides the most liquid trading market for THB/BTC
Go to BX.in.th
Coins.co.th
The same year Coins.ph was successfully launched in 2014, the company decided to extend its financial services in Thailand under an independent exchange known as Coins.th considered to be Thailand’s second-largest Bitcoin exchange, based on liquidity for the THB/BTC pair. The Exchange is run by Coins (Thailand) Co. Ltd. , who are now the 2nd fully regulated Bitcoin Exchange to obtain rights to operate in Thailand.
Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Ron Hose and Runar Petursson, this Exchange aims to become a mobile-friendly app for the unbanked, providing services such as bill payment, online shopping and a remittance service. The mobile app allows for frictionless money transfer, wallet management and also allows it’s users to top up their prepaid phone number provided by third-party telecom companies such as AIS, DTAC and Truemove
Overall Coins.th is known to be a well-rounded Bitcoin service, that offers extra features to the convenience of its customer who can use the utilize digital currency Bitcoin to pay for Bills, obtain Gifts Card and even granted access to a cardless ATM service.
Go to Coins.co.th
Peer-to-Peer Exchanges
LocalBitcoins
A platform that offers seller and buyers from around the world to meet and trade Bitcoin in countries worldwide has become the most popular Bitcoin P2P for Thailand citizens. Anyone can find buyer/sellers of Bitcoin and directly initiate a trade request with users that are trusted based on the built-in rating system. Essentially, Localbitcoins provides an Escrow service that act’s as a third-party to ensure that trades are conducted fairly
Localbitcoins has developed a good reputation and established itself in a large number of countries around the world, with the site currently listing exchangers in 15582 cities across 248 countries.
Go to LocalBitcoins
Remitano
Owned by the Seychelles-based company Babylon Solutions Limited, Remitano has been around since 2016 connecting Bitcoin buyers and sellers on an open, peer-to-peer marketplace. Unlike LocalBitcoins.com, this exchange offers alternative Markets such as Bitcoin Cash & Ethereum providing more alternatives when compared to P2P Bitcoin-only Exchange Network. Remitano, only requires you verify your email address, allowing anyone to bitcoin via a seller on the platform without requiring additional verification
By using the site users can create and list advertisements, communicate with prospective buyers and sellers and confirm all the transaction details before finalizing any trade. Since Remitano is popular among Thai’s it likely to remain one of the more active decentralized marketplace for buyer/sellers of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum & Bitcoin Cash
Go to Remitano
