ReasonThere’s some uncertaintly about how official
this new ban actually is, but the Bank of Thailand has reportedly
outlawed any use of Bitcoin in the country. The “huh?” factor comes
from the news being announced by a Bitcoin exchange, and not by the
central bank itself. For now, Thailand appears to be first country
to outlaw the cybercurrency. Whether the country’s government can
make that ban stick is another issue, since Bitcoin was designed to
be anonymous and as un-bannable as possible.

From Huffington
Post:

The Bank of Thailand declared Bitcoins illegal on Monday, making
it the first country to ban the virtual currency.

According to an online statement by Bitcoin Co. Ltd., which
facilitates the trading of the currency, the ruling came after
months of meetings between the company and Thailand’s central bank.
Thailand’s Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department
ultimately decided on the ban “due to lack of existing applicable
laws, capital controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple
financial facets.”

Essentially all activities involving Bitcoins have been rendered
illegal, including buying and selling Bitcoins, using Bitcoins to
buy or sell goods online, and sending or receiving Bitcoins from
outside the country.

As mentioned, the ban was
announced on the Website of Bitcoin Co. Ltd., in a statement
which reads, in part:

Initially the Bank of Thailand had bypassed the company’s money
exchange license on the basis that Bitcoin was not a currency,
however the company was invited back, on July 29th, 2013, to
participant in a conference about how Bitcoin works in general, and
business operations of Bitcoin Co. Ltd.   The conference
was held with about 15 members of the Bank of Thailand in
attendance.  During this conference, managing director of
Bitcoin Co. Ltd. gave a presentation about the workings of Bitcoin,
the benefits of Bitcoin, insight into the company’s operations and
future implications of Bitcoin.

At the conclusion of the meeting senior members of the
Foreign Exchange Administration and Policy Department
advised that due to lack of existing applicable laws, capital
controls and the fact that Bitcoin straddles multiple financial
facets the following Bitcoin activities are illegal in
Thailand:

• Buying Bitcoins
• Selling Bitcoins
• Buying any goods or services in exchange for Bitcoins
• Selling any goods or services for Bitcoins
• Sending Bitcoins to anyone located outside of Thailand
• Receiving Bitcoins from anyone located outside of Thailand

Based on such a broad and encompassing advisement, Bitcoin Co.
Ltd. therefore has no choice but to suspend operations until such
as time that the laws in Thailand are updated to account for the
existance of Bitcoin.  The Bank of Thailand has said they will
further consider the issue, but did not give any specific
timeline.

Some online commenters have pointed out that the Bank of
Thailand has yet to confirm the announcement, though that may
simply be a function of news traveling at the speed of bureaucracy.
Likewise, some commenters question the bank’s authority to impose
such a ban, though government agencies have been known
to…umm…stretch their wings, from time to time.

Assuming the ban is legitimate, Kavitha A. Davidson points out
at the Huffington Post that “the actual enforcement of the ban
seems virtually impossible, as the use Bitcoins is inherently
anonymous.” Douglas Carswell is more colorful in the pages of
London‘s Daily Telegraph,
writing, “this week’s King Canute prize for attempting to hold
back the tide goes to the government of Thailand.”

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