Thailand’s Opposition Leader’s Promise to Airdrop Crypto Will Not Improve Economy, Say 26%

Thailand’s opposition leader, Srettha Thavisin promises 10,000 Thai baht ($300) in digital currency if elected Prime Minister. The general elections are expected to be held on May 14, 2023. The Bangkok Post reports that real estate mogul turned candidate Srettha Thavisin promises a basic-income style economic stimulus package via “digital currency” should his party, Pheu Thai, win the next election.

The news has generated mixed opinions from the public, with some speculating that it could be a gimmick to gain more votes for victory or that it could stimulate Thailand’s struggling economy.

These opinions prompted Real Research to conduct a survey on Thailand’s opposition leader promising $300 crypto airdrop. Here’s what the responses say about the matter:

Key Points:

The following statistics are key highlights derived from respondents who took the Real Research survey on Thailand’s opposition leader promising crypto airdrop.

• 21.63% feel that Thailand’s opposition leader promising crypto airdrop is ‘bribery’ and feel it will not work.
• 38.41% feel Thavisin’s crypto handout could possibly improve Thailand’s economy
• 24% feel Thavisin will use Bitcoins (BTC) to carry out his crypto handout

The survey responses revealed that 72.23% are aware of the news about Thai opposition leader, Thavisin’s $300 crypto airdrop per citizen promise. Almost 28% are unaware.

Further on, when asked about their opinions on Thailand’s opposition leader promising crypto airdrop, 21.63% of respondents feel it is considered a form of bribery and will ‘definitely’ not work. Another 17.01% felt that it is a publicity stunt and reckoned that he would not fulfill his promise.

While 14.24% say this tactic will make younger people more interested in voting and politics, 12.21% consider this a smart move that will likely win many votes. Finally, 11.01% suggest that it will effectively help the country’s economy.

Thailand’s Opposition Leader Promising Crypto Airdrop– Efficient Way to Stimulate Economy?

Next, the survey asks respondents if handing out crypto is an efficient way to stimulate the economy. As exhibited above, respondents say the handout would be ‘somewhat efficient’ (32.41%), somewhat inefficient (25.43%), very efficient (25.43%), and very inefficient (17.16%).

Similarly, when asked whether the handout policy will improve Thailand’s economy, 38.41% feel it possibly will improve, while 25.78% say it definitely will not. Only 25.36% and 10.45% say it definitely will and possibly not, respectively.

Could the Handout Provide Relief to Thailand’s Debt-Stricken Citizens?

Recently, Thailand’s central bank’s figures showed signs that households and small businesses were still struggling to catch up with debt payments, especially with the onset of the pandemic. Reportedly, Thailand’s household-to-debt ratios have been persistently high. Opposition parties have blamed the low economic growth for this.

So, could Thailand’s opposition leader promising a $300 crypto airdrop per citizen in Thailand provide some relief to citizens struggling with debts? 36.92% highly disagree with this, while 30.72% somewhat disagree that it will. Only 2.01% highly agreed, while 6.37% somewhat agreed that the airdrop would help debt-stricken citizens.

Will Thavisin’s Move Impact the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Ban on Staking & Lending?

On September 15, 2022, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) banned staking and lending services on crypto firms, establishing stricter rules for crypto custody providers.

Will Thavisin’s move to airdrop $300 worth of crypto impact the SEC’s decision to ban staking and lending on all crypto firms? 29% feel it will impact only if Thavisin wins the elections. While 24.39% say it may lead to SEC reconsidering its decision, another 24.18% feel it will definitely influence the SEC’s decision. 22.66% believe Thavisin’s move will not influence the SEC’s decision.

Thavisin to Use Bitcoins (BTC) for Airdrop?

The survey also asked respondents what they feel about what cryptocurrency Thavisin is likely to use, given that The Bank of Thailand has recently declared Thai baht stablecoins illegal. The responses were: Bitcoin (24.04%), Ethereum (1.072%), Ripple (11.85%), Binance Coin (11.28%), Dogecoin (9.81%), Solana (8.88%), and Cardano (8.39%).

Thailand’s Opposition Leader Promising Crypto Airdrop– A New Gimmick to Win Votes?

When Thavisin made his promise to airdrop $300 worth of crypto, many assumed it was a tactic to win votes from the younger demographic. The survey asked whether crypto handouts are a good way to win votes from younger demographics; 40.61% feel it possibly is, while 22.15% say it possibly is. In contrast, 24.9% say it definitely is not, and 12.34% feel it possibly will not.

Will the Handout Affect the Election Results?

The survey asks respondents whether Thavisin’s crypto handout tactic will affect the results of the upcoming general elections; 65.6% felt that it would and 34.4% felt it would not.

Lastly, while the tactic may or may not affect the election results, there is reason to believe that it would influence other politicians around the world to use similar strategies. According to the survey, 34.87% feel this will highly likely influence other politicians, 35.11% also feel it is somewhat likely, and 21.98% remain neutral. A collective of 8.04% feels Thavisin’s strategy would unlikely influence other politicians to do the same.