Odaily Planet Daily News: Thailand is considering a Bitcoin pilot project proposed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, which will be tested in Phuket as a sandbox focused on the tourism industry.
The proposal has received support from the CEO of Binance Thailand, who believes it is a positive step towards the country's competitiveness and ability to attract tourists. However, despite efforts by industry advocates and some political supporters to turn Thailand into a digital hub, the Bank of Thailand still prohibits encrypted payments.
Gulf Binance CEO Nirun Fuwattananukul stated that the proposal "not only reflects the momentum of global cryptocurrency adoption, but also demonstrates that top leaders are embracing these transformative technologies," and added, "As more and more countries adopt digital assets and cryptocurrencies, Thailand cannot afford to fall behind
He continued to say that, given the country's reliance on tourism and foreign capital inflows, "integrating cryptocurrency into Phuket's economy can be well combined with Thailand's strategic advantages and has the potential to attract tech savvy tourists and investors." (Bangkok Post)
Earlier, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, said at a seminar that Trump might repay US debt through Bitcoin. At the same time, he emphasized that this was not to encourage people to buy Bitcoin, but to remind people that it was a trend. There are currently multiple cryptocurrencies emerging, and some people say that in the future, there will be more types of currencies than the number of countries. The Thai people must keep up with the times and understand these changes. He also suggested that the Prime Minister could instruct the Ministry of Finance to study whether Bitcoin can be accepted in Thailand, for example, by piloting the use of Bitcoin in Phuket, allowing Bitcoin holders to make payments locally.