Thailand’s central bank announced increased oversight of stablecoin transactions as part of a broader effort to detect and prevent money laundering and illicit finance.

The Bank of Thailand said it will work with the Securities and Exchange Commission to audit high‑volume stablecoin transactions, focusing on USDT, cash flows and currency exchanges, to identify and stop illicit financial movements. The initiative targets the so‑called gray economy, which consists of cash transactions whose origins are difficult to verify. Scam‑related losses reached 115 billion baht ($3.4 billion) in 2025, with approximately 173 million scam calls and messages recorded, according to local reports.

High‑value cash transactions will require a declaration of the source of funds, and exchanges of large banknotes for smaller denominations without a clear business reason will be monitored. Cash deposits exceeding 5 million baht ($150,000) must be fully disclosed. The expanded compliance duties will apply to commercial banks, currency exchanges, gold bullion traders and entities conducting suspicious stablecoin transactions, the central bank reported.

Crypto trading remains legal in Thailand, and Bitkub, the nation’s largest exchange, reported about $26 million in daily trading volume, with nearly 40 percent involving foreign‑exchange pairs, the USDT/THB pair being the most active, according to CoinGecko. In 2025, banks imposed sweeping account restrictions and froze three million accounts as part of a crackdown on mule accounts and gray capital, a measure that media reports said had unintended consequences for many legitimate users and businesses.

The central bank said the new monitoring framework will be applied continuously and will be adjusted as needed, while the broader impact on Thailand’s crypto market remains uncertain.