Cryptocurrency in Thailand: zero tax until 2029, with conditions
In short. Thailand charges nothing on crypto gains until the end of 2029, provided you sell through a platform its regulator licensed. Sell anywhere else and your profit meets ordinary income tax, which runs to 35%. The government tied the two together on purpose, and in June 2025 it cut off five foreign exchanges to make the point. Buying goods with crypto remains outside the rules.
- GAINS TO 2029
- 0%on sales through licensed providers
- SELLING ELSEWHERE
- Up to 35%ordinary personal income tax rates
- EXEMPTION WINDOW
- 2025 to 2029five years, ending 31 December 2029
- UNLICENSED PLATFORMS
- Blockedfive lost access on 28 June 2025
- CRYPTO PAYMENTS
- Not permittedconvert to baht first
- LEGAL TENDER
- Nothe baht stays the only legal money
Five tax-free years, with one condition
The finance ministry announced in June 2025 that personal income tax on gains from selling digital assets would lift for five years, backdated to 1 January 2025 and running to 31 December 2029.
What you qualify on is the venue, not the amount. Your sale has to go through a digital asset business operator licensed by the Thai securities regulator. Sell through anything else and the gain joins your other income at the ordinary progressive rates, which reach 35% at the top.
Nothing about the size of your position changes that. A hundred dollars and a hundred thousand both hinge on which platform you press sell on.
Thailand enforced it in June 2025
On 28 June 2025 the digital economy ministry blocked Thai access to Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, XT.COM and 1000X. The securities regulator had found all five serving Thai users without a licence under the digital asset business act, and it filed charges with the economic crime division.
The block landed days after the tax announcement, which tells you how the two rules work together. Trading offshore from Thailand now costs you the connection and the exemption at once, with a criminal referral available to the regulator on top.
Paying with crypto still does not work
The securities regulator barred licensed operators from offering crypto as a means of payment in 2022, and that rule has not moved.
Thailand built a workaround for tourists instead. Under the TouristDigiPay sandbox announced in August 2025, a visitor tops up a licensed e-money wallet with crypto, the operator converts it to baht, and the visitor spends baht through the country's QR payment network. Merchants receive baht and touch no digital assets.
Two limits sit on it. The sandbox serves visitors rather than residents, and value moves one way: you can spend crypto as baht, and no Thai merchant will pay you in crypto.
What this means if you are moving there
Thailand gives you the best headline rate in the region and the tightest rules about where you trade.
Nothing on your gains for five years beats what Japan and most of Europe charge, and the deadline sits far enough out to plan around. Against that, you trade on Thai licensed venues or you lose the exemption, several platforms you use today no longer resolve from a Thai connection, and the exemption expires on a fixed date with no promise of renewal. Anyone planning past 2029 should treat the current rate as temporary.
Allowed
- Sell digital assets through a licensed operator and pay nothing on the gain until the end of 2029
- Hold crypto for as long as you like: holding creates no tax event
- Convert crypto to baht through a licensed operator and spend the baht
- Trade on any platform holding a Thai digital asset business licence
Restricted
- Selling through an unlicensed platform, which costs you the exemption
- Reaching Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, XT.COM or 1000X from Thailand since 28 June 2025
- Paying merchants in crypto, which licensed operators may not facilitate
- Assuming the exemption continues after 31 December 2029
How the rules took shape
The digital asset business act brings exchanges, brokers and dealers under the securities regulator.
The regulator bars licensed operators from offering crypto as a means of payment.
The finance ministry lifts tax on gains through licensed operators for five years, backdated to January. Days later, five unlicensed foreign platforms lose Thai access.
The TouristDigiPay sandbox opens, letting visitors convert crypto to baht inside licensed wallets.
The exemption expires unless the government extends it.
Worth knowing
From 2025 through 2029 gains from selling digital assets on licensed exchanges are taxed at zero — an open bid for Asia's crypto capital.
Common questions
How much tax will I pay on my gains?
Nothing until 31 December 2029, as long as you sell through an operator licensed by the Thai securities regulator. Sell elsewhere and the gain meets ordinary income tax rates of up to 35%.
Which platforms count as licensed?
Those holding a digital asset business licence from the Thai regulator. Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, XT.COM and 1000X do not, and Thailand blocked access to all five on 28 June 2025.
Can I pay for things in crypto?
No. Licensed operators may not offer crypto as a means of payment. Tourists can convert to baht inside a licensed wallet and spend the baht instead.
Does holding crypto trigger tax?
No. The tax attaches to the gain when you sell, and until the end of 2029 that gain is exempt through a licensed venue.
What happens after 2029?
The exemption ends on its own terms. The government has promised no extension, so treat the zero rate as a five-year window.
Sources
Other countries
Updated 20.08.2026 · this is reference material, not investment or tax advice