Cineplex in Thailand, has announced it will be accepting Bitcoin as payment for tickets in one Bangkok location. This cryptocurrency pilot programme is a collaboration between digital asset exchanges Zipmex and Rapidz.
As part of Cineplex’s new Bitcoin payment system, customers who opt-in will be required to download the Rapidzpay application, and will then be able to receive their tickets from a kiosk machine. Major Cineplex Group spokesperson Narut Jiansanong commented on the pilot programme:
“The service is meant to draw in crypto-using audiences. There are approximately 100,000
Zipmex users and 5,000 have downloaded the Rapidzpay application.”
Only last month, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) established a strategy to bring high-spenders into the Thai economy. This strategy targeted Japanese tourists, who hold cryptocurrencies, which some figures place as high as 11%. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT’s governor commented on the role of cryptocurrency in strengthening the country’s tourism industry:
“If we can prepare the country for the cryptocurrency market, it will help attract more opportunities from high-spending tourists, especially the young and wealthy generations”.
In 2013, it was illegal to buy and sell Bitcoins in Thailand, however the recent regulation of many cryptocurrency service providers in Thailand, has led to a complete reversal of their initial stance on cryptocurrencies.
As it stands, crypto exchanges, brokers, dealers, and ICO portals in Thailand are viewed as financial institutions under the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Act. The current stance of Thailand’s Revenue Department is that cryptocurrencies and other coins and tokens are intangible assets. In the future, new regulation is likely to take place, and new tax rules could be established.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice