Thailand government approves investment token

The Thai government has approved the launch of a new digital investment vehicle, G-Token, which will be available to the public within two months. The project aims to raise 5 billion Thai baht (about $150 million), Finance Minister Phaichai Choonhavajira told Bloomberg.

The project has already received approval from the Cabinet of Ministers and complies with all regulatory requirements of the Bank of Thailand. G-Token will not be considered a government debt obligation, but will provide a fixed income that exceeds the rates on bank deposits. At the moment, the average interest rates on deposits in Thailand are 1.25-1.5% per annum, which is lower than the key rate of the Central Bank (1.75%).

The new token should offer more favorable conditions to encourage citizens to invest in government programs through blockchain technologies. G-Token will become part of the state strategy for digitalization of the economy and will allow the population to participate in financing the budget, while receiving income above the market level.

The proceeds from the token sale will be used to support the state's socio-economic programs. Analysts note that the initiative demonstrates the growing interest of governments in using blockchain to attract capital from private investors.

Earlier, the Thai cabinet adopted amendments to a number of laws aimed at the work of businesses in the field of crypto assets and cybercrime.