The Bank of Thailand (BoT) launches an unprecedented offensive against gray money, gold, and cryptocurrencies to stabilize the baht.
- The BoT launches an unprecedented offensive against gray money, gold trading, and certain cryptocurrency transactions.
- Banks will now have to report any suspicious transactions, particularly large cash exchanges.
- The digital gold trade, which accounts for up to 60% of GDP in transaction volume, is accused of exacerbating the volatility of the baht.
- Currency inflows exceeding $200,000 must be declared with an indication of their origin.
- The BoT acknowledges that interest rate policy is no longer sufficient to address the structural weaknesses of the Thai economy.
The Governor of the BoT, Vitai Ratanakorn, has announced a radical transformation of the central bank's role, shifting from a passive observer to an active player in resolving Thailand's structural economic challenges.
Speaking on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at the KKP Year Ahead 2026 seminar, Vitai unveiled unprecedented measures to track suspicious banknote transactions, regulate digital gold trading, and monitor cryptocurrency transactions.
These actions aim to stabilize a highly volatile baht and correct what he describes as deeply rooted structural weaknesses in the Thai economy.
This Wednesday, January 14, 1 euro is worth 36.71 baht and 1 US dollar is worth 31.54 baht.
See: Thai baht (THB) exchange rate: daily rate against the euro
“We will no longer limit ourselves to simple analysis,” Vitai said.
“We will take the initiative to resolve structural problems.”.
If these issues are not addressed, they will eventually have an impact on long-term macroeconomic stability.”
Targeting the disproportionate impact of the gold trade
A gold vendor displays gold bracelets in a specialized shop in Bangkok's Chinatown. Photo: Reuters.
The most significant intervention targets the Thai digital gold trading market, massive but largely unregulated, which, according to Mr. Vitai, represents around 50 to 60% of GDP in transaction volume, a figure he described as “huge.”.
The BoT has found that on days when the baht appreciated, between 45% and 62% of all dollar sales in the country came from gold shops, creating high exchange rate volatility.
"This is truly a structural problem," Mr. Vitai stressed.
The central bank is seeking authorization from the Ministry of Finance to regulate gold transactions that affect the baht, including requiring transaction reporting and possibly limiting trading volumes for large players.
These measures are expected to be implemented by the end of January.
"The gold trade is an activity that no one regulates," Mr. Vitai said.
“But what the Bank of Thailand is asking for is the permission to regulate buying and selling transactions on applications, because they have an impact on the exchange rate.”
See also: Thailand: the rise of the baht linked to gold exports to Cambodia
Tracking gray money flows
Bundles of 1,000 baht banknotes. Photo: Thai PBS World.
In an unprecedented move, the BoT will use its expanded powers to track suspicious money flows, including significant cash transactions.
Commercial banks will now be required to report unusual transactions to the central bank.
“We will track the money trail,” said Mr. Vitai.
“Any person exchanging large sums of cash, for example more than one million bahts in small denominations, must be reported to the BoT by commercial banks.”
The governor frankly acknowledged the challenge:
“When I asked around me, I learned that this money would be used for the elections.
I know people will come to exchange 100, 500 and 1,000 baht notes.”
The BoT is also tightening controls on currency exchange services and transfers via electronic wallets to prevent money laundering, with clearing systems that should be operational by the end of the month.
Foreign currency inflows exceeding $200,000 will now be subject to a declaration of income sources.
See also: Is the strength of the Thai baht linked to regional scam networks?
Cryptocurrencies under surveillance
Cryptocurrencies. Illustration: Photospirit
The central bank is also examining the cryptocurrency market, where Vitai revealed that 40% of USDT (stablecoin) sellers on Thai platforms are foreigners who "should not be making transactions in Thailand".
Although the daily volume of cryptocurrency transactions reaches 2.8 billion bahts, it remains very low compared to the foreign exchange market, estimated at between 10 and 15 billion bahts.
The BoT is nevertheless closely monitoring this sector in order to detect any activities related to gray money.
Limited room for maneuver for monetary policy
Bank of Thailand.
Mr. Vitai painted a grim picture of the economic challenges facing Thailand, highlighting that GDP growth has fallen from an average of 5% to just 2% currently, with projections of 1.5 to 1.7% for 2026, against a potential growth rate of 2.7%.
The governor highlighted the limited effectiveness of traditional monetary policy tools.
Despite four interest rate cuts totaling 1%, the stimulating effect on GDP was only 0.18% over two years.
"If we lower interest rates by 0.5%, it will only increase inflation by 0.1%," he explained.
With the Thai policy rate now the third lowest in the world, Mr. Vitai stressed:
"Interest rate policy is just one of many tools.
It cannot solve everything because these are structural problems."
See: The Bank of Thailand lowers its rates in the face of economic slowdown
SME credit crisis
Restaurants on Banthat Thong street in Bangkok. Photo: Khaosod
The situation of credit to SMEs, which has been negative for 13 consecutive quarters (36 months), is particularly alarming.
« If credit is negative, the creation of liquidity in the economic activity system disappears.
That's a real problem », warned Mr. Vitai.
To remedy this, the BoT signed an agreement on January 15 to establish a new guarantee mechanism for loans to SMEs in competitive sectors, including smart electronics, processed agriculture, tourism, and logistics.
Structural challenges ahead
Economy in Thailand. Photo: The Nation Thailand
Thailand is facing multiple structural difficulties.
Notably high household debt (among the highest in the world), an aging workforce, political uncertainty, corruption, and low productivity due to years of underinvestment.
« We are facing inequality issues, both in terms of income and access to opportunities », noted Mr. Vitai, adding that the country had seen seven finance ministers over its five years at the Ministry of Finance.
The governor stressed that resolving these issues requires collaboration:
« Economists analyze to help us understand, but what I would like to say is that I think we are at a point where we need to help each other.
We must help solve the problems together. »
Despite the challenges ahead, Mr. Vitai was cautiously optimistic:
“If we can overcome the obstacles and get through this difficult year, we hope that next year, 2027, will be much better.”.
The Thai economy will return to normal. »
The BoT’s aggressive shift from analysis to action marks a significant change in Thailand’s approach to addressing its economic vulnerabilities.
The central bank acknowledges that structural problems cannot be solved solely by interest rate adjustments.
See also:
Rise of the baht: Thailand becomes too expensive for its loyal tourists
Baht too strong: Thailand is losing the rice battle
Thailand's economy "on the brink"
Source: The Nation Thailand
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2 comments
The politicians' brains are starting to come out of their lethargy.
Let's hope it's not too late.
The work is colossal.
All this, because of 2 journalists based in Singapore, who started investigating!!!
Noted !!!
Wait and see…
Curious to see if the measures that the BOT plans to put in place and which will be activated at the end of this month will have a very short-term influence on the international rating and the stability of the baht and, in the longer term, if the BOT will put in place the necessary IT tools and human resources to manage and maintain the effectiveness of the influence it wants to actively print on monetary and stock market flows to make the value of baht beyond 38thb/1 euro and maintain it there in the long term…
And when I talk about an exchange rate of 38 THB/1 euro, it's, for my part, a minimum below which the baht should not rise ("rise" in value, that is to say "fall" arithmetically).
In any case, if this about-face by the BOT bears fruit (and we'll know very soon), I wonder why it took so long to react to a situation that has been going on for almost 2 years!