The Bitcoin, Blockchain, and Cryptocurrency Thread

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buksida
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Thai Government measures sending crypto industry underground
The imminent introduction of a 7% value added tax (VAT) in addition to a 15% tax on capital gains for all crypto-currency trades in Thailand is sending a shock wave through the trading community, according to a local industry insider.

“From my personal point of view, it just doesn’t make that much sense. Regulators don’t understand crypto-currency. The whole point is to remove the intermediaries and the middle men,” says Topp Jirayut Srupsrisopa, the former CEO of leading Thai Bitcoin exchange, coins.co.th.

Topp believes the new regulations will make crypto-currency prohibitively expensive. “It is no longer a viable transactional protocol for the people. People will move back to banks because it is much cheaper instead of using crypto-currency,” he says, likening the situation to the UK in the 19th century, which had stringent laws restricting the use of automobiles, allowing the monopolistic system of horses and carriages to survive. When the Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 came out, explains Topp, the cartel was smashed.

“This happens again and again in technology and … what we face with crypto-currency in Thailand today is the same, there is too much regulation and scare mongering. Old systems are governing new technology, and regulations are increasing the cost of operating. It follows old patterns and it’s hard to change,” Topp adds.

For Topp, the possibility of change can happen in Thailand, in spite of the regulatory environment. “Resistance will have to come from users, and while we have a Thai Blockchain Association trying to educate the government, regulators come from different departments. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand does support technology, but it has little power to govern the tax regulations, even though it is helping to legitimize the space,” he says.

At the moment, Topp foresees a movement of the industry either overseas or below the surface. “Investors and miners would rather go to Singapore and Hong Kong and leave investment funds there or cash out. Peer to peer crypto-currency payments will also get bigger, and we may see more exchange of goods and services through digital currency as people avoid the capital gains tax altogether. Things may even go more underground,“ he adds.


http://www.atimes.com/article/governmen ... derground/
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Hmmm ... look where the smart money is going; "Shinawatras attend cryptocurrency event in Singapore";

"The two former prime ministers are reportedly attending a cryptocurrency investment conference in the city-state."

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... -singapore
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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THAILAND MOVES TO ENABLE SEIZURE OF CRYPTO ASSETS
A government official said Wednesday it’s looking to allow law enforcement to confiscate the cryptocurrency of those involved in serious crimes.

Due to a legal loophole, police cannot seize cryptocurrencies from suspected or convicted criminals because they are not recognized under the law as are regular currency and assets, according to a representative whose agency is tasked with seizing assets in legal cases.

“We are holding meetings to study it,” Rattanawadee Somboon, deputy chief of the Legal Execution Department, said Wednesday. “Now it’s up in the air. There is no legal recognition whatsoever.”

Narcotics police commander Sommai Kongvisaisuk said if drug suspects keep their wealth in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, his force would be powerless to seize them.

“We are merely agents of the state. We have no right to decide what the laws say,” Maj. Gen. Sommai said.

Use of cryptocurrency for criminal enterprise has attracted the attention of Thai authorities, especially after the founder of what at the time was the world’s leading dark web marketplace was arrested in Bangkok in July.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/busi ... to-assets/
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Digital asset law takes effect

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ne ... recent_box


The royal decree to regulate digital asset-related transactions came into force on Sunday after it was published in the Royal Gazette.

The 100-section law defines digital assets as cryptocurrencies and digital tokens.

It tasks the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) to control and regulate the digital assets.

Sellers of digital tokens unauthorised by the SEC will be fined no more than twice the value of the digital transaction or at least 500,000 baht. They could also face a jail term of up to two years.

All sellers are required to register with the SEC within 90 days of the law taking effect.

The decree was approved by the cabinet in March after going through the Council of State.

The Council of State removed other assets such as electronic data from the draft forwarded by the Finance Ministry.
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said in March that the law was necessary to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and digital tokens to prevent money laundering, tax avoidance and crime.

It was not meant to prohibit cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other digital asset-related transactions, but to protect investors, he added.

The ministry and SEC will now work on organic laws requiring all digital asset transactions, including those of digital asset exchanges, brokers and dealers, to be registered with the relevant authorities according to the decree.
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Still no word on the tax implementation.

"The government has announced the royal act to regulate digital assets which takes effect from 14th May 2018. Our company, BX is relentlessly working and allocating all the information about tax capital gains 15% to customers.”
https://ethereumworldnews.com/10760-2/

Another new exchange has opened in Thailand but I can't see who would want to trade here under the threat of losing 22% of it all to the Junta.

https://www.jib-ex.com/
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Crypto-tax ‘will hit economy’
Taxation threatens to hamper startups, sec is told, as it seeks to regulate digital assets

NEW TAX measures aimed at curbing the Thai initial coin offering (ICO) market will adversely affect the economy as the measures could drive investors and entrepreneurs overseas, according to experts. The Royal Gazette this week announced a new set of laws related to digital asset businesses, an amendment of the Revenue Code to regulate and impose high taxes on transactions. It also warned of tough punishments over illegal conduct in the digital economy. The digital asset law authorises the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate transactions involving cryptocurrencies and digital tokens.

SEC secretary general Rapee Sucharitakul said yesterday that the new taxes and legal requirements would protect local investors who were assumed to have specialised knowledge on ICOs. ICOs were for niche investors, not general investors who could be financially damaged if not well informed, he said. The SEC is preparing to issue new ICO regulations based on the new digital assets law within the next 2-3 weeks. It is empowered to regulate all digital assets but Rapee said that utility tokens might be exempt from the SEC requirements.

However, all exchanges that trade digital assets must be registered with the SEC within 90 days after new regulations are effective. Even ICOs launched prior to the new rules are required to seek approval. The authority is hoping the new regulations will both promote the new sector as well as protect investors from fraud and cheating, he said, adding that the SEC and Revenue Department would hold a joint press conference today to clarify all issues.

The authority would also give the public a full month to submit opinions so that it would be best placed to handle the cryptocurrency sector in a practical way, he said. However, Duenden Nikomborirak, of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), said the tax measures were not favourable for the Thai digital economy and tech start-ups. Overall, the policy would drive Thai entrepreneurs and investors to Singapore, where there are no taxes on ICOs, she said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... T/30345391
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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HSBC are claiming to have completed the worlds first commercial trade transaction using blockchain to replace a letter of credit:
https://www.econotimes.com/HSBC-ING-con ... rm-1308443
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Government u-turn? Haven't we seen this before ?!

Govt to waive VAT on personal cryptocurrency earnings
The Revenue Department will waive value-added tax for people trading in cryptocurrencies on exchange markets approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A new law governing cryptocurrency transactions came into force yesterday (May 14). Saroch Thongpracum, the department’s director of legal affairs, said on Tuesday it would issue a regulation waiving the 7-per cent VAT for individual investors to reduce their tax burden. Cryptocurrency transactions are currently subject to income tax for both private companies and individual investors.

Individuals will still have to pay a 15-per-cent capital gains tax, also known as a withholding tax, on income earned in a transaction. Saroch said the department would later revise tax regulations for private firms trading in cryptocurrencies. The SEC is meanwhile expected to issue regulations next month related to raising capital via initial coin offerings.


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30345435
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Is the 15% capital gains tax being enforced now?

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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Vital Spark wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 3:38 pm Is the 15% capital gains tax being enforced now?

VS
Not yet AFAIK,
“BX is relentlessly working to allocate all the information about tax capital gains 15% to our customers,” the exchange said in a statement to Asia Times. “But in the meantime, we’re still waiting for the Revenue Department and related departments to clarify the procedure of taxation. According to the Royal Act, customers need to collect and allocate their income and capital gain tax [and send this] to the Revenue Department … as currently BX is the one responsible for withholding the 15% tax.”

http://www.atimes.com/article/thailand- ... l-pending/
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Govt warns of crypto vote scam
Cryptocurrency transactions could be manipulated to buy votes in the general election, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam warned Thursday.

Mr Wissanu said the government had been alerted by other countries to keep a close watch on crytocurrency transactions otherwise Thailand could end up becoming a haven for money laundering, attracting transnational crime networks to launder ill-gotten money via trading in bitcoin.

Thailand has also been warned that bitcoin transactions could be manipulated to buy votes ahead of the poll, Mr Wissanu said.

"Cryptocurrency is a new, complex and big issue. It is a mystery. The cabinet needs some time to understand it before deciding whether to let it take its natural course or control it," Mr Wissanu said in a keynote speech the Symposium Thailand 4.0 "Fintech & Cryptocurrency vs Law Enforcement" in Bangkok.

He said cryptocurrency is a double-edged sword with both advantages and disadvantages. It is easy to use, and can be traded with other users around the world, though there are fears of fraud, hacking and errors in the system, Mr Wissanu said.

The government does not oppose cryptocurrency transactions, but investors are urged to keep abreast of information to avoid being cheated, he said.

Jessada Sookdhis, president of the Thai Fintech Association, also warned investors about "pump-and-dump" scams that are widespread in other countries.

These typically involve parties whose identities are hidden, acquiring low or zero-value assets and then bidding up the price in such a way that genuine investors find themselves tempted to part with hard-earned cash for fake promises.

After several rounds of public hearings, a royal decree regulating digital assets took effect on May 14.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politi ... -vote-scam



What general election? Or do they mean when they elect the general? Can see them using this as another lame excuse to crackdown on it.
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Thailand’s Central Bank Eyes Creating Its Own Digital Currency for Interbank Settlements
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is considering issuing its own cryptocurrency, the bank’s governor revealed in a speech June 5.

In his keynote on Thai economic development at Nomura Investment Forum Asia (NIFA) in Singapore, BoT governor Veerathai Santiprabhob spoke of a new project in which the central bank and other Thai banks join forces to develop a “new way of conducting interbank settlement” using a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC).

According the bank, the adoption of its own cryptocurrency by the banking system would reduce the transaction and validation time as well as its costs “due to less intermediation process needed compared to the current systems.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/thailand ... ettlements
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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^^ Ban it! Too revolutionary.
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Thailand Unveils Details of Crypto Regulations, Legalizing 7 Cryptocurrencies
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand has unveiled the details of the country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, including licensing requirements, fees, and a list of seven approved cryptocurrencies.

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday the details of the country’s cryptocurrency and initial coin offering (ICO) regulations. The measures were approved at the regulator’s June 7 meeting and are expected to go into effect later on this month, according to local media. “The proposed approach has been through public hearings in several channels,” MGR Online wrote.

This announcement follows the decree which went into effect on May 14, putting the Thai SEC in charge of crypto regulations. It also follows the country’s crypto taxation announcement.

According to SEC deputy secretary-general Tipsuda Thavaramara, the Commission’s regulatory scope includes ICOs, crypto exchanges, brokerage firms, dealers and other parties permitted by the Finance Ministry, the Bangkok Post reported, adding that initially:
"The SEC will allow seven cryptocurrencies, used for initial coin offerings (ICOs), to be traded as trading pairs. They are bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, litecoin, ripple, and stellar."

https://news.bitcoin.com/thailand-crypt ... urrencies/

Original: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ne ... to-details
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Re: The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency thread

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Thailand Leads in Crypto by Skipping the Big Debate
Securities, or not securities. That is the crypto question.

Except in Thailand.

While regulators around the world have grappled with the issue of what category digital currencies and assets fall into, Thailand has skipped the debate altogether.

Instead, using an emergency decree that came into effect earlier this year, authorities wrote an entirely new law.

The result is the Digital Asset Business Decree, which defines both cryptocurrencies (a medium of exchanging goods) and digital tokens (rights to participate in an investment, or to receive specific goods). The government also amended its tax law so it can extract some revenue from the budding industry.

Like almost everything in the crypto world, the new move copped criticism from all sides. True believers are aghast that regulators even dare, well, regulate. More conservative elements see downsides in even giving these upstarts any credibility.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to strike a balance between those who view cryptocurrencies as evil and those who use them for gambling, Archari Suppiroj, director of the commission’s fintech department said at last month’s TechSauce conference in Bangkok. If regulators make things too strict, she argues, people will go overseas and Thailand’s ability to offer any investor protection will evaporate. That’s a sentiment regulators worldwide share.

As I’ve argued before, regulation brings legitimacy. And legitimacy brings, hopefully, widespread adoption.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles ... big-debate
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