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However, although virtual currency is not a legal tender under the
Currency Act of Thailand, for both parties, an obligation can be extinguished
if the creditor accepts a virtual currency for payment transactions instead of
the official one.
In addition, rather than defining virtual currency as money or currency,
authorities in a number of jurisdictions generally define it as a digital
representation of value that can be used as an alternative to real money or
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fiat currency.
In this regard, as Libra coin is a stablecoin whose main functions and
features are similar to other types of virtual currencies, Libra coin cannot
therefore be considered a legal tender under the Currency Act of Thailand.
4.2.1.2 The Exchange Control Act B.E. 2485 (1942)
Furthermore, it is worth analysing whether or not virtual currency falls
within the scope of the Exchange Control Act of Thailand. Section 3 of the
Act on Exchange Control B.E. 2485 defines çforeign currencyé as being legal
tender in any country other than Thailand. It is worth noting that the Act does
not provide a clear-cut definition of çforeign currencyé, as it is not limited to
the forms of currency provided for in the aforementioned Currency Act of
Thailand. However, from Section 3, to date, no legislation in any jurisdiction
has ensured the legal tender status of virtual currencies. Accordingly, virtual
currency is not classified as foreign currency under the Act.
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Virtual currency schemes - a further analysis, European Central Bank, <https://www.ecb.europa.
eu/pub/pdf/other/virtualcurrencyschemesen.pdf> accessed 1 December, 2019.
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