Thailand greenlights U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF access

The Thai government is planning to enable tourists to spend crypto via credit card, according to information revealed by Thailand’s finance minister on May 26.Photo by rc.xyz NFT gallery on UnsplashPichai Chunhavajira, the Southeast Asian nation’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, delivered a keynote speech at an investment seminar in Bangkok in which he outlined that while some countries enable people to purchase goods directly with cryptocurrency, another option is to allow consumers to link their digital assets with other services such as credit cards.  In that way, the consumer can spend crypto through credit card services. English language news outlet The Nation reported that Chunhavajira confirmed that the government is preparing to launch a pilot project that would allow tourists to spend crypto in this manner within Thailand. Seamless conversion from crypto to fiatWith this system, merchants would still receive payment in Thai baht. From the point of view of the user, crypto could be spent but any exchange between crypto and fiat currency would happen seamlessly and automatically via the credit card service provider’s platform.Discussions between officials from the Bank of Thailand and the Ministry of Finance are ongoing with regard to the proposed scheme. It’s understood that similar existing models which have been introduced overseas are being examined. It’s likely that the pilot program is the same as the project that was announced by Chunhavajira in January when he alluded to a program enabled for foreign tourists visiting the Thai tourist resort of Phuket. At that time, it was envisaged that the scheme would adhere to existing legal frameworks and implicate identity verification through a third party service provider, with conversion from crypto to Thai baht to be enabled such that there would be no material difference experienced by merchants. Targeting touristsThis is not the first occasion in which tourists have been targeted by crypto-related initiatives. Earlier this month, it was announced that Binance Pay, a crypto payment service offered by global crypto exchange Binance, had partnered with the government of the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan to launch the world’s first national-level crypto tourism payment system. In July 2024, the governor of Jeju Province in South Korea advocated for the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto as part of Jeju Island’s tourism strategy. Last December the province announced a digital transformation roadmap that sets out a cashless future. Plans include the introduction of a system for converting digital assets and facilitating payment methods from neighboring countries like China and Japan. However, not all governments have been keen to facilitate tourists in spending crypto. In May 2023, the governor of the province of Bali in Indonesia cautioned foreign visitors to the region against the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for goods and services. Governor Wayan Koster warned that visitors using cryptocurrency for payments could face severe consequences, including criminal penalties and deportation.

NEOPIN and SBINFT Join Forces to Expand DeFi and NFT EcosystemsNEOPIN, the global CeDeFi platform of South Korean investment holding company Neowiz Holdings, announced today its strategic partnership with SBINFT, the NFT marketplace developer and Web3 subsidiary of Japanese online financial conglomerate SBI Holdings.Photo by Markus Winkler on PexelsExtending their global reachThrough this partnership, the two companies will combine their individual expertise to enhance the global reach of each other’s ecosystems. Their strategy involves facilitating the introduction of established NFT projects from regions such as South Korea, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia into the Japanese market. Additionally, they will collaborate to offer both financial and technical assistance to promising Japanese Web3 initiatives, enabling them to expand internationally.Web3 projects and utility NFTsTo achieve this objective, NEOPIN will onboard a diverse range of Web3 projects to its ecosystem, thereby broadening their adoption and appealing to a worldwide user base. Meanwhile, SBINFT will proactively seek to bring utility NFTs into its NFT marketplace.NEOPIN’s partnership with SBINFT is a strategic step in its plan to enter the Japanese market. Just recently, the South Korean enterprise revealed its proactive approach to intensify endeavors to attract a Japanese customer base.Kim Yong-ki, NEOPIN’s CEO, mentioned that the collaboration with SBINFT represents one of their initial endeavors to penetrate the Japanese market. Kim further stated that NEOPIN is dedicated to achieving favorable outcomes not only within Japan but also across the East Asian region.Ko Jang-deok, CEO of SBINFT, echoed this sentiment, expressing that NEOPIN possesses a robust strategy tailored for the Japanese market. He mentioned that the partnership with such a company will help SBINFT introduce international content to the Japanese market. Ko highlighted SBINFT’s commitment to extending its presence in the East Asian market.

Liminal, a Singapore-based digital asset custodian, has gained regulatory approval in Abu Dhabi, as part of a series of recent steps the company has taken to expand across Asia and the Middle East. Extending digital asset custody to the Middle EastTaking to the X social media platform on May 13, the company outlined that its First Answer Middle East subsidiary received Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Abu Dhabi Global Market's (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) on May 9. The approval allows the firm to provide digital asset custody in the region. Liminal had initially been granted in-principle approval last year. In a series of posts, the company outlined that it sees Abu Dhabi’s regulatory framework in respect of digital assets as forward-thinking. It drew particular attention to the work of the FSRA in developing a robust framework to enable institutions to enter the digital assets space.Photo by Sohail Sarwar on UnsplashGame changerOn the actual license approval itself, the company stated, “The FSP license allows Liminal to hold, manage, and safeguard digital assets on behalf of institutions, hedge funds, venture capitalists and professional clients. This is a game-changer for digital asset custody practices in the region.” Further regional expansionOver the course of recent months, Liminal has scored a number of regulatory successes within the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. Its success within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not been confined to Abu Dhabi. In April, First Answer Custody FZE, a Dubai-based subsidiary company, secured initial approval from the emirate's regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).  Meanwhile, Liminal's Indian subsidiary, First Answer India Technologies, has been established and registered as a reporting entity. As a consequence, it has become the first digital asset custodian registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an organization that falls under the umbrella of the Department of Revenue, and  which collects financial intelligence relative to money laundering.  Making further in-roads within the world’s most populous country in November, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appointed the firm with a mandate to manage seized digital assets. Liminal has ties with India insofar as it was founded by Mahin Gupta in 2021, the co-founder of crypto exchange ZebPay. In an interview with CoinDesk, Manan Vora, senior vice president of strategy and business operations at Liminal stated:"We initiated a strategic drive two years ago to secure regulatory licenses in key markets across APAC and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), strategically positioning ourselves to cater to institutional clients.” Vora added: "Our strategic vision is to expand from our present technology presence in Europe and Taiwan to pushing for regulatory victories there. In Indonesia, we are already working as a technology provider for the nation's sovereign digital asset exchange." Within its home market of Singapore, Liminal was grandfathered into a new licensing system that the city-state introduced recently in respect of digital asset custody as a consequence of already having been a provider of such services in Singapore. The company has been given a grace period of six months. Within that timeframe, it intends to submit an application to local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore.