Baht Stablecoin Rules Due March 2027 as BoT Pauses FX Licences

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) plans to issue baht stablecoin rules in March 2027 and will accept no new money changer licence applications throughout 2027, as it tightens oversight of how money moves in and out of the Thai currency. The plans were set out by central bank officials in recent weeks and reported by The Thaiger on 8 November and Thailand Business News on 9 November.

The proposed coin would be pegged one-to-one to the baht and fully backed, according to the BoT’s consultation paper. The central bank plans to limit the number of issuers at first, and The Thaiger reported that Governor Vitai Ratanakorn suggested about two, following the approach taken in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Public consultation on the principles paper runs from 19 October to 17 November 2026. According to The Thaiger, the hearing period was extended from 10 to 30 days at the request of stakeholders, and another hearing will follow once the rules are drafted.

What the baht stablecoin rules require

Under the BoT’s proposal, issuers would initially have to hold bank deposits covering 100% of the coins in circulation and allow one-to-one redemption within one business day. They could not pay interest, would have to publish daily figures on reserves and coins issued, and must be able to freeze or burn coins used for illegal purposes.

Wallet providers face their own checklist. They must verify the identity of every user, allow transfers only between wallets that have passed know-your-customer checks, keep auditable transaction records and help users when problems arise.

Wallets would not be allowed to connect with overseas digital asset exchanges outside the supervision of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Foreign residents and visitors could hold the coin, but only in a verified Thai wallet, The Thaiger reported.

The immediate purpose is narrow. The BoT describes the coin as a payment and settlement tool, including for retail investors trading digital assets. According to The Thaiger, it is meant to let crypto investors who sell Bitcoin or Ether keep their money in a baht-based token rather than a foreign-currency coin such as USDT, without moving it back into a bank account. Later uses could include payments, transfers between systems and programmable payments.

Money changer licences frozen for 2027

Pimpan Charoenkwan, BoT assistant governor for financial markets, said on Thursday 5 November that no new money changer applications will be accepted in 2027, The Thaiger reported. Firms that want to open an exchange business in 2027 must apply between 1 and 30 December 2026, under current rules and with full documentation, at the Bangkok head office or a regional office.

Licensing under tougher rules will begin in 2028, with two application windows a year, in March and September. Existing operators will be brought up to the new standards first, and the pause applies only to new applicants. The BoT first floated the pause and the move to two intake rounds a year in draft principles published in August.

The new standards will be matched to each operator’s risk level. The aim, according to Pimpan, is to make sure money changers cannot be used to support illegal activity.

The measures sit inside a wider push against grey money. Vitai has described the stablecoin as a payments project, separate from that crackdown, but the BoT is working with the SEC to examine large USDT transactions.

Since 1 November, banks have run extra checks on branch cash transactions of 5 million baht (roughly US$150,000) or more in a single day, including cash deposits and foreign currency trades. Electronic banking transactions are excluded.

Why it matters for Thai business and investors

For Thailand’s crypto exchanges and fintech firms, the baht stablecoin offers a regulated local alternative to dollar-linked tokens. The issuer cap and strict wallet rules, however, suggest the market will be built around a small number of licensed players, a model already used by Asian financial centres. The rules land in a busy year for Southeast Asian fintech, where firms such as Philippine lender Salmon have also been raising capital.

Would-be money changers will feel the licence pause sooner. New entrants have a one-month window in December to file under current rules before the door shuts for a year.

The plans form part of a broader BoT agenda. Speaking at a GovernorConnect event on 29 October, Vitai outlined five measures due between November 2026 and March 2027, The Nation reported. They include controls on cash gold trades above 10 million baht, licensing for buy now, pay later services with a proposed 20,000 baht credit limit, lower credit-bureau checking fees, higher standards for money changers and the stablecoin rules.

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The policy rate stood at 1% when he spoke. Vitai also drew a clear line on the bank’s mandate. “The Bank of Thailand’s role is not to stimulate the economy,” he said.

The next dates to watch are the close of the consultation on 17 November, the December application window for money changers, and the publication of the final stablecoin rules in March 2027.