Bitcoins Banned in Thailand

It all came about as a result of a firm, Bitcoin Co. Ltd attempting to register with the various Thai government agencies in order to operate a money exchange.

The firm continues:

Initially the Bank of Thailand had bypassed the company’s money exchange license on the basis that Bitcoin was not a currency, however the company was invited back, on July 29th, 2013, to participant in a conference about how Bitcoin works in general, and business operations of Bitcoin Co. Ltd. The conference was held with about 15 members of the Bank of Thailand in attendance. During this conference directors of Bitcoin Co. Ltd. gave a presentation about the workings of Bitcoin, the benefits of Bitcoin, incite into the company’s operations and future implications of Bitcoin.

At the conclusion of the meeting senior members of the Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department advised that due to lack of existing applicable laws, capital controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple financial facets the following Bitcoin activities are illegal in Thailand:

Buying Bitcoins
Selling Bitcoins
Buying any goods or services in exchange for Bitcoins
Selling any goods or services for Bitcoins
Sending Bitcoins to anyone located outside of Thailand
Receiving Bitcoins from anyone located outside of Thailand

Making something illegal and preventing a black market from emerging to supply the product are, of course, two different things, just ask any junkie. But things do get messy. Buying and selling Bitcoins in Thailand just got