Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#1

Post by rb2k_ » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:02 PM UTC

Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand
bitcoin.co.th

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#2

Post by Articulate » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:21 PM UTC

How will this work in practice?

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#3

Post by tomelders » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:24 PM UTC

It will be interesting to see how actively they enforce this new ruling. Given that paedo-tourists are effectively given a free pass in Thailand I find it odd that Bitcoin would work it's way to the top of the agenda.

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#4

Post by dreen » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:26 PM UTC

    - 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

I think what they mean is that its impossible for a company to do any of the above things legally. Its not possible to enforce this on the individual level.

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#5

Post by eksith » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:26 PM UTC

Riddle me this.

How does banning bits in any way shape or form, prevent their transmission and storage?

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#6

Post by dragonwriter » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:28 PM UTC

eksith wrote: post #5

Riddle me this. How does banning bits in any way shape or form, prevent their transmission and storage?

Bans themselves rarely directly prevent things. What they do is provide for punishment for people found to be doing them, which then provides a disincentive.

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#7

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:28 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#8

Post by mjn » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:28 PM UTC

dreen wrote: post #4

- 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 I think what they mean is that its impossible for a company to do any of the above things legally. Its not possible to enforce this on the individual level.

Yes, as the statement notes, the Thai government didn't seek anyone out, and don't appear to be actively interested in whether people are making Bitcoin transactions. Rather, a company, Bitcoin Co. Ltd., asked the Bank of Thailand for an opinion on the legality of their operations and whether any licenses were needed. The Bank of Thailand responded that such activities can't be licensed under current law. Therefore, Bitcoin Co. Ltd. decided to suspend operations to avoid running afoul of the law.

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#9

Post by Nursie » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:29 PM UTC

dreen wrote: post #4

- 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 I think what they mean is that its impossible for a company to do any of the above things legally. Its not possible to enforce this on the individual level.

>> Its not possible to enforce this on the individual level.

Why not? From what little I understand it's pretty easy to spot bitcoin related traffic on a network, transactions in particular. Thailand already has some sort of national filtering/porn censorship set up IIRC.

Re: Bitcoin ruled illegal in Thailand

#10

Post by dragonwriter » Mon, Jul 29, 2013, 2:30 PM UTC

tomelders wrote: post #3

It will be interesting to see how actively they enforce this new ruling. Given that paedo-tourists are effectively given a free pass in Thailand I find it odd that Bitcoin would work it's way to the top of the agenda.

Most governments are of a size where it would be terribly inefficient for them to work on only one issue at a time.