What was the first major currency crisis of the 1997 Asian financial crisis?

The first major currency crisis of the 1997 Asian financial crisis was the Thai baht crisis.

Thailand’s government abandoned the baht’s long-standing exchange-rate peg to the U.S. dollar on July 2, 1997. The currency then fell sharply, after years of heavy borrowing, property speculation, current-account deficits, and pressure on Thailand’s foreign-exchange reserves.

The shock spread through investors and banking systems across East and Southeast Asia. Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies experienced currency collapses, falling stock markets, corporate failures, and recessions. International Monetary Fund assistance became central to several rescue programs.

The crisis is sometimes called the Asian financial crisis even though its effects were uneven and extended beyond Asia. Hong Kong maintained its currency peg, while Japan faced separate banking and economic problems connected to the aftermath of its earlier asset bubble.