Analysis of Thailand's Blockchain and Encryption Ecosystem

1. Market Overview

1. Cryptocurrency platform visits

In 2023, a well-known cryptocurrency data analysis platform had an average monthly visit of 648,000 in Thailand, accounting for 0.94% of the national population. It is worth noting that Thailand's per capita visit rate is 0.21% higher than that of the United States, demonstrating the strong interest of the Thai people in cryptocurrency.

2. Digital Asset Trading Scale

According to data statistics, from January to October 2023, Thailand's leading digital asset exchange had a total trading volume of up to 116.4 billion USD, equivalent to about 410 billion THB. Among them, a certain trading platform accounted for 77.04% of the market share, becoming the market leader. The other two major platforms accounted for 21.60% and 1.36% of the market share, respectively.

3. User Engagement Analysis

In the global cryptocurrency adoption index ranking, Thailand ranks tenth. This ranking takes into account users' activities in centralized exchanges, P2P trading, and DeFi protocols.

• Exchange users: The number of user accounts on Thailand's digital asset exchange exceeds 2.94 million, accounting for 4.27% of the national population, demonstrating the rapid growth of the industry.

• Wallet Usage: The download volume of a certain well-known encryption wallet in Thailand exceeded 790,000 times from September 2020 to August 2023, peaking in November 2021, possibly related to the GameFi and metaverse craze.

• DEX Access: During the bull market in 2021, Thai users averaged 35,000 visits to decentralized exchanges each month.

• NFT platform: In the 2022 NFT boom, a well-known NFT trading platform in Thailand had an average monthly visit of 48,000, peaking at 65,000 in July.

2. Regulatory Framework

Thailand has established a clear regulatory framework in the digital asset sector, primarily overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Key points include:

• Main regulation: "Emergency Law on Digital Asset Business"
• Regulated assets: tokens and digital currency
• Regulatory scope: ICO, exchanges, brokers, dealers, funds, and advisory services
• Seven types of digital asset-related licenses
• Cryptocurrency is currently classified as a commodity, subject to a 7% transaction tax.

3. Market Ecology

Thailand's digital asset activities are primarily concentrated in trading, brokerage/dealers, and tokenization, dominated by several core participants. Traditional large enterprises, such as major banks and energy companies, have also actively entered the digital currency market in recent years.

Main participants include:

• Exchange: In addition to local platforms, international exchanges also enter the market through joint ventures.
• ICO Portal: Large banks are involved, providing token sale channels for projects such as real estate.
• Brokers/Traders: Many companies have obtained licenses, some supported by energy companies.
• Consulting services: Professional institutions provide research, reports, and other services.
• Venture Capital: Major banks are making encryption-related investments through subsidiaries.
• Web3 Projects: Local projects are mainly focused on GameFi and the metaverse, with some NFT projects being popular in the community.

Overall, Thailand's blockchain and encryption ecosystem is thriving, with a clear regulatory framework, high market participation, and the involvement of traditional financial institutions and large enterprises bringing new momentum and opportunities to the industry.