Thailand Launches Bitcoin Trial for Tourists as Village Becomes 'Bitcoin Town'

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies may be experiencing a downtrend right now, but that's not enough to stop adoption.

Despite the current downtrend in Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, adoption continues apace. For example, Thailand has launched a trial to allow tourists to make payments with Bitcoin, the country’s Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira revealed.

According to Pichai, who is also Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Phuket has been chosen as the first destination to implement the country’s policy aimed at simplifying digital asset payments for tourists.

No new legislation will be needed, as Pichai assured that everything will be conducted within existing legal frameworks.

The finance minister explained that the pilot program will enable tourists to register and verify their crypto holdings through a Thai exchange to make purchases.

A clearing house will convert the Bitcoin into Thai baht, simplifying large transactions such as real estate purchases in cases such as those faced by refugees from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Thailand’s “Bitcoin town”

The pilot is part of a broader narrative of crypto adoption in Thailand, as Nation Thailand reports, with a village in Kalasin’s Huay Phueng district being dubbed “Bitcoin town”.

A young Bitcoin enthusiast opened a coffee shop where he is teaching locals to use Satoshi, the smallest units of BTC, for cashless transactions. Over 80 locals have reportedly joined in with several businesses such as a noodle shop, meatball street food stall, a tuk-tuk service and other local vendors accepting crypto payments.

Challenges with Illegal Crypto Operations

On a more concerning note, local police and electricity officials have shut down illegal crypto mining operations, as reported by the Bangkok Post.

According to the report, investigators seized 996 mining devices that had been operating on stolen electricity in the Phanat Nikhom district of Chon Buri.

Police Major General Montree Theskhan said that while the company was registered to trade digital assets, they also manipulated power meters to steal electricity for their mining operations – with solar panels on the roof not even connected to the mining equipment.