- The Bank of Thailand is using data analytics to scan for abnormally high-volume trades in stablecoins, especially Tether‘s USDT, as part of a crackdown on illicit finance.
- Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said early reviews flagged transactions that appear designed to evade disclosure rules or bypass normal transfers; the SEC will decide on any follow-up.
- The screening is part of a wider sweep targeting large cash deposits and withdrawals, Gold trading, and online-gambling “mule” accounts.
Thailand’s central bank has turned data-analytics tools on the stablecoin market, scanning high-volume trades for signs of illicit money as part of a widening crackdown on the shadow economy.
Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said the central bank has begun screening abnormally large stablecoin transactions, particularly in Tether’s USDT, and has already flagged some that appear designed to sidestep disclosure requirements, according to Thansettakij. Because the Securities and Exchange Commission, rather than the central bank, directly regulates digital assets, the Bank of Thailand is coordinating with the SEC on any follow-up action, reports indicate.
The stablecoin screening is one strand of a broad campaign against the “grey economy,” an effort the governor cast as a long haul requiring several measures running in parallel. Since April, banks have had to check the purpose of cash withdrawals of 5 million baht (about $150,000) or more, a rule that cut large cash withdrawals by roughly 35%.
Regulators are also tightening controls on gold trading, where officials noticed buyers ordering gold through an app in the morning and collecting it from shops in the afternoon. Suspicious activity is now reported to Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office, and monthly gold withdrawals have fallen from about 4,000 kilograms to around 700.
Thailand has become a hotspot for crypto-enabled crime, and its agencies have been chasing it aggressively. Thai police recently traced a romance-scam laundering network as part of Interpol’s Operation First Light, in which a single wallet moved more than $122.5 million in 10 months through cross-chain swaps. Meanwhile, the country is courting legitimate crypto, as the central bank says it is working to develop a baht-backed stablecoin as part of a broader financial-infrastructure overhaul.
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