Thailand airdrops 100 billion yuan in virtual currency: Web3.0 gradually becomes the campaign slogan of politicians in various countries

Recently, Srettha Thavisin, a supporter of the Thai crypto industry, was elected prime minister. He has promised to distribute digital assets worth 2,000 yuan to citizens over the age of 16. The plan will cost more than 100 billion yuan and is currently underway.

In addition to Thailand, politicians in the United States and South Korea have also made election promises regarding cryptocurrencies. More and more elections are linked to Web 3.0. Whether it is a political show or a general trend, the younger generation who use cryptocurrency may be the key.

The whole nation airdrops 100 billion yuan of virtual currency

On August 31, Thailand’s Pheu Thai party announced that it would use “utility tokens” in an upcoming digital wallet initiative aimed at stimulating the national economy.

Previously, Srettha Thavisin, a real estate developer who supports the crypto industry, was elected as the Prime Minister of Thailand and concurrently served as the Minister of Finance. During the campaign, he promised to provide a digital asset airdrop of 10,000 baht (about 2,000 yuan) to all Thais over the age of 16.

Srettha Thavisin was previously the CEO of real estate developer Sansiri, which has been actively involved in the country's digital asset sector. Sansiri reportedly acquired a 15% stake in Thai digital asset service provider XSpring in 2021. XSpring operates a cryptocurrency broker and a licensed ICO portal in partnership with Thai state-owned commercial bank Krung Thai Bank.

According to regulations, the tokens to be issued by Thailand must be used in local businesses within 6 months, cannot be exchanged for cash or used to repay debts, and cannot be traded on digital asset exchanges. The program is expected to be launched before April 2024, and the funds are expected to come from taxes in fiscal year 2024 and increased taxes from economic expansion and borrowing.

Industry analysts say that Thailand's policy of issuing virtual currency to the entire population remains to be seen, as it is difficult and costly to implement, but it is worth looking forward to that the policy will widely promote the encryption industry in Thailand and may bring nearly 50 million additional users to the encryption industry.

Currently, Thailand’s total population is 71.8 million, with about 55 million people over the age of 16. Based on this calculation, the total value of the digital assets issued is approximately 560 billion baht (116 billion yuan).

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of another Thai political party, the Progress Party and a candidate for prime minister, was also exposed to hold cryptocurrencies, with a cumulative value of several thousand dollars. In the election, Pita Limjaroenrat also proposed campaign measures in terms of cryptocurrency. He once said that blockchain would be integrated into government affairs to increase transparency.

Thailand has always attached great importance to the development of the encryption industry.

In January this year, the Securities and Futures Commission of Thailand issued regulatory regulations on digital asset wallets, requiring digital asset business operators providing custody services to establish a digital wallet management system to accommodate the efficient custody of digital assets and keys and ensure the security of customer assets.

In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand held a public hearing to consider removing the 300,000 baht (about 62,000 yuan) retail investment limit for initial coin offerings (ICOs) to stimulate investment in digital tokens.

According to a 2022 report released by analytics firm Chainalysis, Thailand ranks eighth in the global crypto adoption index.

Many politicians favor Web3.0, young voters may be the key

As the crypto industry breaks out of its circle, Web3.0 has become an important part of the election promises of many politicians.

At the end of July this year, Robert Kennedy Jr., the Democratic presidential candidate of the United States, said that if he won the presidential election, he would exempt Bitcoin from capital gains tax and use hard assets such as Bitcoin to support the US dollar. At a conference in May, he announced that he would accept Bitcoin campaign donations and praised cryptocurrency as a "symbol of democracy and freedom," condemning Biden's proposed 30% Bitcoin mining tax.

On August 4, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez also announced that he would accept Bitcoin campaign donations. Earlier, he announced his candidacy for the next US president. During his tenure as Miami mayor, Francis Suarez was committed to making Miami a cryptocurrency center, which received widespread attention.

A crypto practitioner who once started a business in the United States told Techub News that American politicians’ promises of Web3.0 during the election were somewhat political showmanship, but on the other hand, it also showed that Web3.0 was becoming mainstream, and politicians hoped to gain the support of crypto users. At the same time, it also promoted the crypto industry well.

Recently, Grayscale released a report titled "Bitcoin, the Crypto Industry, and the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election," stating that millennials and Generation Z voters may ultimately decide the outcome of the "Bitcoin Election" as they become increasingly concerned about their financial situation. In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, young people are expected to make up the largest proportion of voters in history, with millennials and Generation Z accounting for 44% of U.S. voters.

South Korea's current president Yoon Seok-yeol also made relevant commitments about Web 3.0 during the election.

At a meeting in January this year, South Korean conservative candidate Yoon Seok-yeol said that "out of touch with reality and unreasonable" regulations must be thoroughly reformed to unleash the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market. He promised to deregulate the crypto industry and proposed raising the capital gains tax threshold for cryptocurrencies to 52.4 million won (about 280,000 yuan).

Yoon's rival, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, is also a supporter of the crypto industry and has pledged to institutionalize virtual assets, prepare a framework for the listing of cryptocurrencies, and establish a more transparent information system.

It is worth mentioning that both Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung issued NFTs to finance their presidential campaigns.

Industry analysts said that both candidates are actually vying for the support of young voters. South Korea has a high rate of crypto asset adoption, with young people accounting for about 40% of cryptocurrency users.

According to a survey in South Korea, 4 out of 10 South Koreans aged 20 to 30 own crypto assets, and the total trading volume of crypto assets in the country exceeds that of the KOSPI stock exchange.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is well-known for his support for Bitcoin. He has been controversial for legalizing Bitcoin as the country's legal currency. A poll report released by TResearch in February this year showed that about 94% of the people in El Salvador intend to vote for Nayib Bukele's re-election.

Web3.0 has become one of the important directions of development of global cutting-edge technology. Currently, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Japan have also announced their embrace of Web3.0.

Since October last year, Hong Kong has actively promoted the development of the Web3.0 ecosystem. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan have become active promoters of Web3.0.

On August 27, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that this year a grant of HK$50 million will be allocated to Cyberport to accelerate the establishment of a thriving Web3.0 ecosystem. So far, it has brought together more than 180 companies with Web3.0-related technologies, including unicorns, licensed virtual asset trading platforms, etc.