Thailand’s Crypto Crackdown: New Gold & Digital Asset Rules Target Grey Money

Bangkok tightens the screws—regulators just rolled out stricter oversight for gold and cryptocurrency transactions.

The Regulatory Hammer Drops

Forget anonymous buys and off-book trades. The new framework demands full transparency, linking every significant asset move to a verified identity. It’s a direct strike against the shadow economy’s favorite tools.

Why Gold and Crypto Got the Spotlight

Authorities pinpointed these two asset classes as prime vehicles for moving value undetected. The parallel isn’t coincidental—both offer portability and have historically operated in regulatory grey zones. Now, that opacity is gone.

The Compliance Calculus for Investors

Legitimate traders face more paperwork, but gain a cleaner market. The rules force exchanges and dealers into a stringent reporting regime, making Thailand a less hospitable place for dirty money to park—or a brilliant new compliance theater, depending on your faith in paperwork stopping determined capital.

One financier’s necessary safeguard is another’s bureaucratic hurdle. The move signals a mature, if more cumbersome, phase for Thailand's digital asset scene—proving that when a government wants a cut, it first demands a ledger.

Revenue Department considers a new “Specific Business Tax” 

The Prime Minister’s order is aimed directly at the gold trade. The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has been advised to lower the amount of gold bar purchases that must be reported.

Previously, only transactions exceeding 2 million baht had to be reported. However, the new directive will create a new limit that will be significantly lower to prevent “smurfing”, the practice of splitting large sums into smaller amounts to evade detection.

The SEC also ordered strict enforcement of the “Travel Rule.” This international standard requires all crypto asset providers to identify both the originators and beneficiaries of wallet-to-wallet transfers.

PM Anutin stated, “Today, we are not only addressing modern digital threats but also ‘analogue’ financial crimes, […] Traditional criminal methods are constantly evolving to find new life. We must work as a single, integrated force to protect the public interest and the integrity of our financial system.”

Thailand weighs limits on gold speculation to protect the Baht

This operation is also a step-up effort to limit speculative gold trading because huge volumes of gold deals have helped push the Thai baht to unusually strong levels. Authorities aim to limit the amount of gold individuals can trade and tighten reporting requirements to prevent excessive gold-related currency flows from distorting the exchange rate and harming exports and tourism. 

The baht is hovering around its highest level since 2021. The Bank of Thailand governor Vitai Ratanakorn stated that they will integrate a cap on the amount of foreign currencies individuals can transact with money changers at 800,000 baht a day. “The baht’s recent abnormal strength is partly driven by gold transactions conducted in the local currency, particularly trading via Thai-baht-based applications,” Vitai said.

To ease the pressure on the baht, leading Thai bullion dealers, who account for about 90% of the market, have proposed to upgrade their online trading platforms to facilitate buying and selling in dollars within the next three to six months.

Last year, the baht gained 8%, making it the second-best performer in Asia. This was a result of the dollar’s weakness, and gold’s 65% rally to a series of record highs helped hide weak domestic economic factors.

Daily gold trading volumes in Thailand have at times exceeded those on the local stock exchange, prompting traders to transact unusually large amounts of US dollars. According to the central bank, at peak periods, gold-related deals accounted for 50%–60% of Thailand’s total dollar trading.

According to Kritcharat Hirunyasiri, chairman of MTS Gold Group, total gold trading was estimated at around 10 trillion baht last year, doubling from 2024. Thailand remained a net gold importer last year, importing 180 tons while exporting 110 tons, according to the Thai Gold Traders Association.

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