The daily media headlines covering the latest Bitcoin scandal to hit Southeast Asia read like a Hollywood script. Indeed a local actor nicknamed “Boom” is now part of the mix. As this story unfolds and governments respond, it is important that the further development and application of financial innovations in the region not be unintentionally undercut.
This time, Asean’s second biggest nation as measured by GDP, Thailand, unfortunately plays a starring role in the latest cryptocurrency scandal.
According to local media reports, an investor in the Stock Exchange of Thailand and staff at up to three Thai banks may well have been complicit in a US$24-million scandal involving a businessman from Finland, a Macau casino and a cryptocurrency called Dragon Coin...
from The Nation
Curtis S. Chin served as U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He currently serves at the Milken Institute as Asia fellow and is a managing director at the advisory firm RiverPeak Group LLC.
