The Bank of Thailand is charting a course to develop a baht-backed stablecoin, a move aimed at modernizing the nation’s payment systems, aligning with global financial advancements, and potentially lowering transaction costs. Governor Vitai Ratanakorn announced the central bank’s intention to modernize the country’s payment infrastructure, emphasizing the need to keep pace with international financial trends and enhance efficiency.
Central Bank’s Vision for a Baht Stablecoin
The initiative to explore a baht-backed stablecoin is seen as a critical step in strengthening Thailand’s financial infrastructure. Governor Vitai highlighted that the primary goal is to improve the efficiency of the country’s payment and settlement systems while simultaneously reducing associated costs. This endeavor aligns with a broader global trend, as many central banks are actively investigating or implementing similar digital currency initiatives. The central bank is working in close collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to meticulously study and design the operational framework for this proposed stablecoin, with significant progress reported on the project.
A public hearing on the proposal is anticipated by the end of the year, following which the central bank plans to refine the framework based on substantial public feedback received since the initial unveiling. This consultation process is expected to span approximately three months.
Operational Framework and Requirements
In its initial phase, the Bank of Thailand intends to permit financial institutions to utilize stablecoins exclusively for settlement purposes. The exploration of additional use cases will be considered in subsequent phases. The proposed stablecoin would operate under a fully-backed reserve model, ensuring that every stablecoin issued is matched by an equivalent amount of Thai baht held in reserve on a 1:1 basis. For instance, if a licensed entity issues 1 billion baht worth of stablecoins, it must hold 1 billion baht in reserve.
Issuers of these stablecoins will be required to obtain a license from the central bank and will be subject to its regulatory oversight. Crucially, the underlying baht reserves cannot be reused or circulated elsewhere; they must remain locked as reserve assets. This stringent measure guarantees that every stablecoin can be redeemed for its equivalent baht value at any time. The design aims to maintain the stablecoin’s value at parity with the baht, preventing the creation of money outside the established banking system and ensuring that the issuance of stablecoins does not inflate the money supply or trigger inflationary pressures.
Broader Financial Innovation Initiatives
Beyond the stablecoin project, the Bank of Thailand is actively engaged in other financial innovation initiatives. The Programmable Payment Project, launched to test novel payment technologies, allows eight business operators to experiment with payment settlement and related financial innovations within the central bank’s regulatory sandbox. These innovations leverage programmable electronic tokens built on distributed ledger technology and smart contracts, enabling automatic transaction execution once predefined conditions are met.
Several pilot projects are currently underway. As of April 2026, three participants have advanced to the second phase of testing. TrueMoney is conducting an asset tokenization payment pilot from June to December 2026, while Bitkub Blockchain Technology is testing escrow payment services, asset tokenization payment services, and blockchain bridging from April 2026 to March 2027. Om Platform is testing escrow payment services from April to December 2026.
A range of participants completed the first round of testing, including SCB 10X for Purpose-Bound Money (PBM) in November 2024, Bank of Ayudhya for secure payment in September-November 2025, and Kasikornbank for PBM from August 2025 to March 2026. Other participants in the first round included Bitkub Blockchain Technology, TrueMoney, Future Competere Venture, Determina, and Om Platform, testing various services like escrow, asset tokenization, and business-to-business lending.
The asset tokenization payment service pilots focus on using programmable baht payments as the settlement medium for transactions involving tokenized digital assets such as digital tickets, NFTs, and investment tokens. These efforts aim to enhance the convenience and transparency of digital asset transactions and improve settlement efficiency through atomic settlement, where payments and asset transfers occur simultaneously.
The PBM service pilot is being tested on a limited scale for foreign tourists, enabling them to exchange digital assets for programmable baht payments to purchase goods and services via QR codes. This pilot is restricted to specific locations and events, ensuring seamless integration with existing payment systems where merchants receive baht directly into their bank accounts. The project also assesses the potential of programmable payments to reduce the need for currency exchange and lower transaction costs for international visitors.
Regional Stablecoin Developments
Neighboring financial hubs are also advancing their digital currency frameworks. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses on April 10, 2026, to HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), authorizing them to issue Hong Kong dollar-referenced stablecoins. This move follows the implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance in August 2025, establishing a regulatory framework for digital asset development that balances innovation with consumer protection and risk management.
Standard Chartered is operating its stablecoin business through its joint venture, Anchorpoint Financial Ltd., which successfully completed a full-lifecycle test of its HKDAP token on the Ethereum mainnet in May 2026. HSBC has also confirmed its HKD stablecoin development is proceeding as planned.
In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore introduced its stablecoin regulatory framework in August 2023. This framework applies to single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or any G10 currency. Key requirements include maintaining value stability through strict reserve asset management, ensuring sufficient capital and liquidity for financial resilience, guaranteeing redemption at par within five business days of a request, and providing clear disclosures on reserve management and holder rights.
The Bank of Korea is actively studying Korean won-backed stablecoins, while legislative debates continue regarding their issuance. Some proposals suggest allowing non-bank entities to issue stablecoins, though financial regulators lean towards a more conservative approach, favoring bank-majority ownership for issuers due to established risk management practices. Banks are expected to lead early adoption, particularly for institutional applications like cross-border wholesale settlement, with the planned launch of real-world asset tokenization in 2027 potentially accelerating stablecoin use for tokenized securities.
The development of a baht-backed stablecoin by the Bank of Thailand signifies a proactive approach to embracing digital finance, aiming to enhance payment efficiency, reduce costs, and integrate more closely with the evolving global financial landscape.
