The Hungarian Embassy and Thai Fintech Association to jointly explore blockchain tech

The agreement between the financial technology associations of the two countries will lead to technological cooperation, including blockchain

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Published: Oct 31, 2022 03:34:18 PM IST

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A bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by Thailand's and Hungary's financial technology associations to facilitate the use of blockchain technology in their respective financial sectors.

According to a Facebook post by the Hungarian Embassy in Bangkok, the MOU between the Thai Fintech Association (TFA) and the Hungarian Blockchain Coalition would allow the two organisations to "share experiences, best practises, and explore areas potentially beneficial for direct cooperation."

A Bangkok Post article dated October 29 revealed TFA President Chonladet Khemarattana stated that international cooperation is required to advance local financial technology because e-commerce, mobile payments, and digital currencies are expanding quickly in Thailand.

Additionally, he stated that 20 percent of the world's crypto holders reside in Thailand, and it was ranked ninth in the 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index released in September by analytics company Chainalysis and crypto payments business TripleA.

The National Data and Economy Knowledge Center and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary jointly established the Hungarian Blockchain Coalition in March 2022, while the Thai Fintech Association was established as a non-profit in 2016 to represent the local financial technology sector, including crypto exchanges.

The agreement was reached at the same time as Thailand's central bank, and a few of its commercial banks participated in a cross-border wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) transaction platform testing project using distributed ledger technology in September.

In addition, the Bank of Thailand stated in August that it intended to launch a trial programme for a retail CBDC by the end of 2022 on a small scale in the private sector with about 10,000 customers. Using "cash-like activities," such as making purchases of products or services, would be used to test the digital currency.

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also imposed certain limits on cryptos this year, forbidding their usage as payment methods in March because they "could affect the stability of the financial system."

The SEC plans to forbid crypto exchanges from offering or supporting services for storing digital assets, which is another way the authority is tightening down on crypto lending platforms.

In February, György Matolcsy, the governor of the Hungarian National Bank, called for a complete ban on all crypto assets and mining within the European Union, stating that it "serviced illegal activities" and was "speculative." This indicates that Hungary takes a similarly tough stance on cryptos.

Shashank is founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist.