Thailand Pushes Ahead with Baht-Backed Stablecoin Plan

Thailand's central bank, the Bank of Thailand, is moving forward with a plan to issue a baht-backed stablecoin. The token will be pegged to the Thai currency at a 1:1 ratio and will be available for settlement use by banks.

The plan marks a shift from the central bank's earlier caution towards private baht-pegged tokens, which were seen as potentially resembling electronic money and requiring direct regulatory review. Instead, this new approach keeps control within the official financial system while creating room for a supervised tokenized-baht model.

Vitai Ratanakorn, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, emphasized that domestic payments in Thailand must be made in baht, which keeps the proposed stablecoin tied to national-currency settlement rather than dollarized crypto payments. The central bank is currently reviewing how the token could be used without weakening payment oversight, monetary stability or consumer protection.

The plan follows a global trend of central banks and regulators reassessing stablecoins through currency sovereignty, payments infrastructure, and settlement efficiency. While dollar stablecoins still dominate global crypto liquidity, more jurisdictions are studying local-currency tokens to keep digital payments tied to domestic money.