Young Thai crypto investors ‘doomed’ by get-rich-quick idea: NESDC
Young Thais investing in cryptocurrencies and digital assets risk big losses due mainly to their get-rich-quick attitude and lack of experience and knowledge.
That was the warning issued by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), a government think tank, in a report on Thailand’s outlook in the second quarter.
The agency said young Thai investors also tend to base their investment decisions on instinct rather than analysis.
People aged under 30 constitute about half of registered crypto investors in Thailand, the report said, citing a study by Mahidol University’s College of Management (CMMU).
“The CMMU study found that Gen Z invests in cryptocurrencies because they want to get rich quick,” it adds.
It said this attitude turned some people into millionaires in a short period but many crypto investors also made huge losses quickly.
Almost 45 per cent of Thai crypto investors have no knowledge or understanding of the market, said the NESDC report, citing the CMMU study. This lack of knowledge, particularly among young investors, makes them more prone to making wrong decisions, it warned.
A separate survey by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found that about 25 per cent of investors in digital assets made their investment decisions based on instinct alone. Meanwhile, 41 per cent used different analysis methods and 26 per cent based their decisions on the latest information.
The CMMU study also found that almost 65 per cent of Thai crypto investors traded through online platforms based overseas to avoid paying taxes in Thailand.
The NESDC report warned that crypto investors should opt for reliable platforms to avoid compromising their personal information. It said investors are often unable to examine overseas platforms properly, unlike those based in the country and under SEC supervision.
The government recently asked the SEC to lead an overhaul of Thailand’s crypto regulations after local exchange Zipmex halted withdrawals and entered bankruptcy protection. Yet despite a global meltdown that saw the crypto market lose about US$1 trillion in May and June, Thailand, a hotbed of digital currency trading in Southeast Asia, still has more than 20 SEC-registered digital asset operators.
