Crypto Bite

Thailand will bar the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payments for goods and services, saying the wider use of digital assets threatens the nation’s financial system and economy. Business operators -- including crypto exchanges -- must not provide such payment services, and are barred from acting in a manner that promotes the use of digital assets to pay for goods or services, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a  statement  on Wednesday. However, the new regulation won’t affect trading or investments in digital assets, the agency said. While the restrictions on the use of digital currencies for transactions will be effective starting April 1, companies in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy will have until the end of April to comply with the new rules, the regulator said. It said the curbs on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for commercial transactions are in line with regulations in Europe, the U.K., South Korea and Malaysia.  Thailand’s crackdown on digital ass