TLDR
- The Bank of Thailand is auditing high-volume USDT trades linked to suspicious financial activity.
- Regulators are also reviewing large cash deposits, currency exchanges, and gold transactions.
- Cash deposits above five million baht will require full source-of-funds disclosure.
- Thailand is targeting gray money connected to scams, corruption, and shadow economic activity.
- Authorities aim to improve enforcement after earlier account freezes affected legitimate users and businesses.
The Bank of Thailand is auditing high-volume stablecoin trades as authorities intensify action against illicit financial flows. The review targets USDT transactions, cash movements, and currency exchanges linked to suspicious activity. Regulators aim to identify channels that support money laundering, scams, corruption, and Thailand’s wider gray economy.
Regulators Expand Stablecoin Transaction Reviews
The Bank of Thailand is coordinating the audit with Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission. Officials will examine unusually large stablecoin transfers and related transactions across regulated financial networks. The review focuses on patterns that may connect digital assets with undeclared or criminal funds.
The Bank of Thailand will maintain several enforcement strategies rather than rely on temporary measures. “The measures we are implementing are not short-term fixes,” Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said. He added that authorities require several parallel strategies and continuous enforcement.
Stablecoins allow users to transfer large values quickly across borders and between trading platforms. Authorities therefore view transaction monitoring as important for tracing funds moving outside traditional banking channels. The Bank of Thailand has kept digital asset payments prohibited, although cryptocurrency trading remains legal.
Cash, Foreign Exchange, and Gold Face Tighter Checks
The Bank of Thailand also plans broader compliance duties for commercial banks and other regulated businesses. The rules cover cash networks, foreign exchange dealers, gold bullion traders, and suspicious stablecoin activity. Authorities want institutions to detect transactions that may support corruption or shadow economic activity.
Customers making high-value cash transactions will need to declare the source of their funds. Banks will also monitor large exchanges of big banknotes for smaller notes without clear commercial reasons. Deposits above five million baht, about $150,000, will require complete disclosure.
The Bank of Thailand is targeting gray money linked to scams and other suspicious sources. Thailand recorded an estimated $3.4 billion in scam losses during 2025, according to reported figures. The country also faced about 173 million scam calls and text messages during that year.
Enforcement Follows Earlier Account-Freezing Problems
Thailand’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitkub, records about $26 million in daily trading volume. Foreign exchange pairs account for nearly 40% of activity, while USDT against the baht leads trading. The Bank of Thailand can use these market patterns to guide surveillance priorities without banning legal trading.
Thai banks froze about three million accounts during a 2025 campaign against mule accounts and suspicious capital. However, the restrictions also affected thousands of individuals and legitimate businesses, according to media reports. The Bank of Thailand now faces pressure to improve targeting while maintaining controls against financial crime.
The Bank of Thailand continues working with securities regulators to audit large stablecoin trades and connected cash activity. Its latest measures extend scrutiny across banks, exchanges, gold dealers, and high-value cash networks. Authorities will use transaction disclosures and coordinated monitoring to identify illicit finance while reducing unnecessary disruption.
