Thailand and Hungary to jointly explore blockchain technology
The Financial Technology Associations of Thailand and Hungary have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the introduction of blockchain technology to their respective financial sectors.
The MOU, signed by the Thai Fintech Association (TFA) and the Hungarian Blockchain Coalition on October 25, will see the two associations “share experiences, best practices and explore areas potentially useful for direct cooperation,” according to a Facebook post by Embassy of Hungary in Bangkok.
TFA President Chonladet Khemarattana said e-commerce, mobile payments and digital currencies are growing rapidly in Thailand and international cooperation is needed to further develop local financial technology, according to a Bangkok Post report on Oct. 29.
He also claimed that 20% of the world’s crypto holders are in Thailand, the country ranked eighth on the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index released in September by research firm Chainalysis and crypto payment company TripleA estimated that nearly 6.5% of the population owns cryptocurrency,
The Hungarian Blockchain Coalition was jointly established by the country’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the National Data and Economy Knowledge Center in March 2022, while the Thai Fintech Association is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 with the aim of representing the local fintech industry. including cryptocurrency exchanges.
The pact comes as Thailand’s central bank, along with some of the country’s commercial banks, was involved in testing a cross-border digital currency (CBDC) transaction platform using distributed ledger technology.
The Bank of Thailand also announced in August that it was looking to start a pilot of a retail CBDC by the end of 2022 on a limited scale in the private sector among approximately 10,000 users. It would test the digital currency using “cash-like activities” such as paying for goods or services.
Related: Crypto exchange Bitkub targeted by Thai SEC with demands for wash trading
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has enacted some restrictions on crypto this year, banning the use of cryptocurrencies for payments in March saying they “may affect the stability of the financial system.”
The regulator is also cracking down on crypto lending platforms with the SEC planning to ban crypto exchanges from offering or supporting digital asset custody services.
Hungary apparently has a similarly tough stance on cryptocurrencies, in February the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, György Matolcsy, called for a blanket ban on all crypto trading and mining across the EU, saying it “served illegal activities” and was “speculative.”
