After learning that many Thai teenagers, primarily schoolchildren, had suffered large losses trading in cryptocurrency, a senior researcher from Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) issued a warning on his Facebook page.
Somchai Jitsuchon, TDRI’s Research Director for Inclusive Development, revealed that his colleagues in the field discovered that many secondary school students in the Northeast had lost tens of thousands to more than 100,000 baht ($US 275 – 2,750) from investing in cryptocurrencies.
He stated that the money lost was money saved by their grandparents for their education fees and, in some cases, emergency money saved by their families.
“This is very concerning; the government should impose immediate and strong measures to protect these young and inexperienced investors who have just begun investing in the naive belief that they can make large profits,” Somchai said.
He insisted that government measures be implemented to protect Thai teenagers from the risks associated with investing in digital assets and that crypto-trading platforms be required to educate their customers and conduct mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to screen out minors.
The warning came after Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) discovered that 45% of young Thai crypto investors lack knowledge and understanding of the market, putting them at risk of large losses due to a get-rich-quick mentality.
