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Thailand Regulator Adds USDC, USDT Stablecoins to Approved Cryptocurrencies

Previously, only bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), XRP, stellar (XLM) and certain tokens used in the Bank of Thailand’s settlement system were approved.

Bangkok, Thailand (Noom HH/Getty Images)
USDT, USDC approved for use in Thailand (Getty images)

What to know:

  • Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is adding Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC to its list of approved cryptocurrencies for trading on digital asset exchanges.
  • The decision, effective from March 16, follows a public consultation in February where the majority supported the proposal.
  • The approval of USDT and USDC, with market capitalizations of $142 billion and $58 billion, respectively, aligns Thailand with global trends where stablecoins are increasingly significant in crypto trading and payments.

Thailand’s financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expanding its list of approved cryptocurrencies with the two largest stablecoins, Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC as trading pairs on digital asset exchanges.

Previously, only bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), XRP, stellar (XLM), and certain tokens used in the Bank of Thailand’s settlement system were approved by the regulator.

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The move comes after a public consultation in February, during which most respondents backed the proposal. The new rules from the will take effect on March 16.

By recognizing USDT and USDC, Thailand is aligning itself with global trends where stablecoins play a key role in crypto trading and payments. Stablecoins are one of the fastest-growing sectors of crypto, driven by demand in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. USDT has a $142 billion market capitalization, followed by USDC with its $58 billion market cap.

USDT issuer Tether said on Monday that the approval paves the way for broader acceptance of its token in Thailand’s financial sector.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

Krisztian Sandor

Krisztian Sandor is a U.S. markets reporter focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, real-world assets. He graduated from New York University's business and economic reporting program before joining CoinDesk. He holds BTC, SOL and ETH.

Krisztian Sandor
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