Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office announced that July onwards users will have to verify their accounts in person through a “dip-chip” machine in an effort to decease new account creation on crypto exchanges. 

The cryptocurrency sphere has taken the world by storm especially during 2021 as the bull run still persists even after phenomenal gains and price surges. The market is booming and apart from minor retracements in the market, the crypto market does not appear to be cooling down anytime soon. The boom in the decentralized finance, nonfungible tokens and the real-world application and uses of blockchain is behind the persisting bull run. As the blockchain technology becomes more relevant, it is here to stay. 

The cryptocurrency market has also brought with itself a plethora of novel problems. Regulators throughout the world have no idea or experience about navigating the crypto sphere. The decentralization of the market makes centralized regulation tricky while the complicated nature of blockchain products makes the classification of assets unclear. But lax regulation has resulted in increased crypto-related scams. 

The South Korean government has launched a crackdown on cryptocurrencies as they have contributed largely to the increase in money laundering and tax evasion in the country. South Korea has also imposed various laws to better regulate the market – although some of the laws have resulted in controversies throughout the country. 

Thailand is also following suit with South Korea as the country delves into strengthening its own cryptocurrency regulation. The government has launched new requirement for “Know Your Customer” (KYC) in order to prevent rampant new account creation on cryptocurrency exchanges. The dip-chip machines use a chip installed in Thai national cards to verify the user. This will also discourage foreign investors as majority of them may not be able to obtain Thai national cards for KYC verification.