The Thai stock exchange announced a few days ago that it will launch the Thai Digital Assets Exchange in the third quarter of the year. The move is an attempt to satisfy the interest of the younger generation in investments, according to local media. SET has a three-year strategic plan to "improve the digital infrastructure to serve an evolving investor lifestyle and modernize capital market supervision". According to President Pakorn Peetathawatchai, the TDX will be an important part of this plan "by innovatively creating a new platform to link traditional asset trading to digital assets". Trading of stocks and cryptocurrencies has increased in Thailand over the past year or so. According to the report, there were 1.6 million new trading accounts in 2021, a 40% increase over the previous year. The Thai stock exchange wants to make the markets more accessible by simplifying the procedures for opening trading accounts. It also aims to encourage retail investors to use a digital platform for trading and offer smaller products to attract young investors.
It is unclear whether the new TDX exchange will only be for Thai stocks and tokenized assets, or whether it will include decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Previous reports have suggested that cryptography would not be included as the central bank and the finance ministry still disapprove of the industry. Thailand's central bank has repeatedly warned businesses and commercial banks not to deal with cryptocurrencies and not to accept them as payments. However, some of the largest banks in the Kingdom have made substantial investments in local crypto exchanges. The Bank of Thailand will release a report on the financial landscape and cryptocurrencies later this month. Earlier this week, the Thai Tax Department said it would finalize tax reporting requirements for cryptocurrency traders and miners by the end of this month. Cryptocurrency companies and traders have been seeking clarity from the department since it announced a 15% capital gains tax on profits last week.