The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has come forward today to announce that it has plans for introducing a trading platform for asset-backed digital tokens during the latter half of 2021. Unfortunately, SET considered cryptocurrencies to be too risky due to the potential of being used in money laundering activities.
SET opinionated that cryptocurrencies don’t meet the necessary criteria to be listed on its trading platform. Furthermore, it also considers that had they listed crypto, it would have hurt SET’s image of a high trust exchange.
In order for tokens to be listed on the platform, they need to comply with three requirements: have an underlying asset that investors can analyze on value, they must be environmentally-friendly and support society, and play a role in the economic activity of the region.
The Executive Vice-President at SET, Kitti Suthiatthasil, declared: “Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are currently used in some countries which are experiencing high inflation and currency fluctuations such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela as an equivalent of fiat money. Another reason why the SET is not interested in cryptocurrencies despite their recent surges is that they can easily be used for money laundering. If people are caught laundering money on the SET digital asset platform using cryptocurrencies, it could harm the SET’s reputation and overall investor confidence.”
Cryptocurrencies in Asia
Asia represents over 40% of the market cap for the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the continent is highly important for the crypto market since over 50% of the world’s crypto mining companies are located in China.
Digital assets have started to be adopted by several Asian countries, such as Singapore, South Korea, and Japan. This SET announcement also indicated that, even with the criticism of crypto, the country is moving toward offering a trading platform for already regulated digital assets.
“We just buy the future and hopefully the digital asset marketplace will grow as expected,” Suthiatthasil added.