Thailand will allow foreign visitors to exchange cryptocurrencies for baht to make local payments, in an 18-month pilot project aimed at boosting the country's vital tourism sector, Reuters reports.

The cap on cryptocurrency exchanges will be 550,000 baht, equivalent to about 160,000 Swedish kronor, partly to test the system and partly to prevent money laundering, according to Lavaron Sangsnit, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance. However, the limit may be reviewed after the pilot period is over.

Thailand is grappling with a decline in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country. On Monday, the country's government planning agency lowered its 2025 forecast for the number of foreign tourists by 10 percent, to 33 million. That would mean a significantly lower number of tourists than in the record year of 2019, when Thailand received 39.9 million visitors, generating around 560 billion kronor in revenue.

Tourists will be able to make the exchanges via Thailand-based crypto exchanges, after which the funds will be transferred to digital wallet applications. This will allow payments to be made to local businesses.

Source: DI.SE