ASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK8APRILNEWSROOM STRAITSX BOOSTS STABLECOIN NETWORK GROWTHThailand's newly formed cabinet has received royal approval, allowing Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to formally lead the government following the February 8 election.King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed the 34-member cabinet, as reported in a Royal Gazette statement released Tuesday. This move clears the way for the administration to begin governing amid rising fuel costs, declining exports, and slowing economic growth.PM Anutin has retained his core economic team, signaling policy continuity during these challenging times.The key figures include Ekniti Nitithanprapas as Finance Minister, Suphajee Suthumpun as Commerce Minister, and Sihasak Phuangketkeow as Foreign Minister.Their continued leadership is expected to maintain stability in Thailand's economic policy and navigate the mounting external pressures on trade and growth.Anutin will also continue to serve as Interior Minister, a role that provides substantial authority over provincial administration, local budgets, and security coordination.This dual responsibility reinforces his influence over both political networks and policy implementation across the country.To address the escalating energy crisis, Akanat Promphan has been appointed as the new Energy Minister. This appointment comes as surging fuel prices threaten to increase living costs for households and operational expenses for businesses.The cabinet's composition underscores the government's focus on economic stability, energy management, and policy continuity as Thailand faces multiple macroeconomic challenges. StraitsX is speeding up its stablecoin network growth after a high growth in card usage, which highlights the increasing global interest in using crypto-linked financial services.The company claimed a 40-fold growth in card transaction volumes and an 83-fold growth in cards issued between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025, which resulted mostly due to its late-2024 soft launch with RedotPay.The expansion can be compared to the overall industry trends as on-chain card payments around the world have increased tremendously, which can be attributed to the fact that people are increasingly accepting digital assets in their daily lives.Based on this momentum, StraitsX will leverage its traction by introducing its XSGD and XUSD stablecoins on the Solana, as well as allowing cross-border payment functionality with Thailand in Project BLOOM.One of the distinguishing factors of StraitsX is its controlled base. The company has the ability to offer digital payment token services as it is under the Major Payment Institution licences issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which permits the services within a compliant structure.Its XUSD stablecoin has been identified as congruous with future Singapore regulatory principles, such as full reserve support and independent audits, and the firm is a reliable financial infrastructural provider.The strategy of StraitsX aims at incorporating the stablecoins in the current payment systems in a seamless manner.Allowing partners to issue cards on underlying networks, the company will provide a familiar user experience and will depend on block chain to settle the back-end, as a step to realization of the company vision, which is to make payments powered by stablecoin payment infrastructure and invisible to the final user. THAILAND'S CABINET APPROVED, ANUTIN RETAINS KEY MINISTERS· Thailand's new 34-member cabinet receives royal approval· PM Anutin retains core economic ministers to ensure policy continuity· Akanat Promphan appointed energy minister amid rising fuel costs· StraitsX sees 40x surge in card transaction volumes· Expansion of XSGD and XUSD stablecoins on Solana· Regulated framework under Monetary Authority of Singapore boosts credibility
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