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On 16 March 2025, the Thai SEC officially included USDC and USDT in its list of permitted cryptocurrencies for use in digital asset transactions on licensed Thai exchanges. That was a significant step — it gave Thai investors regulated access to dollar-denominated digital assets without the regulatory grey area that previously surrounded stablecoin holdings.
Why stablecoins matter for Thai investors
Stablecoins solve a problem that’s hard to address otherwise: they let you hold dollar exposure without holding actual dollars in a Thai bank account, without using forex CFDs, and without sending money offshore. A USDT or USDC balance on Bitkub or Gulf Binance is, functionally, a dollar position you can move in and out of at will.
For Thai investors watching the baht weaken from 31 to 32.62 against the dollar through 2026, holding some portfolio value in stablecoins has provided a 2-3% buffer. Convert ฿100,000 to USDT at 31.50 in February, hold it, convert back at 32.60 in May, and you’ve gained roughly 3.5% in baht terms.
USDC vs USDT
Both are fully fiat-backed dollar stablecoins, but they’re issued by different entities with different transparency profiles.
USDT (Tether) is the older and more liquid of the two, with about $130 billion in circulation globally. It’s backed by a reserve mix that includes Treasury bills, secured loans, and other assets. Tether publishes quarterly attestations but has historically been criticized for opacity. In practice, USDT has held its peg through every market stress since 2021.
USDC (Circle) is backed primarily by short-duration US Treasuries and cash held with regulated US banks. It has stronger transparency, daily reserve breakdowns, and a clearer regulatory standing in the US. It briefly depegged in March 2023 during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis but recovered fully.
For Thai investors, both work for short-to-medium-term dollar exposure. USDC is generally considered the safer choice for larger balances. USDT has more trading liquidity, which matters if you’re moving in and out frequently or trading other crypto pairs against it.
How to actually use stablecoins from Thailand
The mechanics are straightforward. Open a Bitkub or Gulf Binance account if you don’t have one. Deposit THB via PromptPay or bank transfer. Buy USDT or USDC at the exchange’s quoted rate. Hold the balance in your exchange wallet or transfer to a private wallet.
Fees vary. Bitkub charges 0.25% per stablecoin trade. Gulf Binance charges 0.1% base, lower with BNB discounts. Spreads on USDT/THB are typically 0.1-0.2% depending on size. For a ฿100,000 conversion, total transaction cost is roughly ฿250-500 round-trip — comparable to a bank’s FX margin on a similar amount.
Tax treatment
Gains on stablecoin trading on licensed Thai exchanges fall under the same 5-year capital gains tax exemption that applies to other crypto. If you buy USDT at ฿31.50 per dollar and sell at ฿32.60, the ฿1.10 per dollar gain is exempt through 31 December 2029. That’s a significant advantage versus holding USD directly in a Thai bank account, where any interest would be taxable.
One caveat: the tax exemption applies to gains, not to interest or yield earned by lending stablecoins. If you put USDT into Bitkub Earn or a similar yield product, the earned yield is taxable income separately. The price gain when you eventually sell is still exempt; only the yield portion is taxed.
Risks to understand
Stablecoin risk has three layers. First, peg risk — the small chance the stablecoin trades below $1, usually briefly during stress events. Second, issuer risk — the chance Tether or Circle has problems with reserves, regulators, or counterparty banks. Third, exchange risk — the chance your Thai exchange has problems and your stablecoin balance is affected.
For balances above a few hundred thousand baht, splitting across USDC and USDT, and holding some on-exchange and some in a self-custody wallet, reduces concentration on any one risk.
Practical use cases for Thai investors
Three patterns are common. First, parking baht in stablecoins during periods of expected baht weakness. Second, using stablecoins as the staging asset between crypto trades — sell BTC into USDT, wait, buy ETH later, all on a licensed exchange so gains stay exempt. Third, using stablecoins as a yield vehicle through regulated lending products on Bitkub and Gulf Binance, though yields are modest (3-6% annualized).
