What was the name of the 1997 crisis that began with Thailand's currency collapse and spread across East Asia?

The 1997 crisis that began with Thailand’s currency collapse was the Asian financial crisis.

Thailand abandoned the baht’s fixed exchange-rate arrangement on 2 July 1997 after intense pressure on its foreign-exchange reserves. The baht then depreciated sharply, and financial stress spread to Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies. Stock markets plunged as investors reassessed currencies, banks, companies, and government finances.

Many affected economies had experienced rapid growth and large inflows of foreign capital. Banks and companies often borrowed in U.S. dollars while earning income in local currencies. Once local currencies weakened, the domestic cost of repaying those foreign-currency debts increased, damaging balance sheets and encouraging further capital flight.

The International Monetary Fund organized assistance programs for several countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. The crisis was not identical in every nation, and China and Hong Kong followed different paths. The term “Asian financial crisis” therefore covers a connected regional episode rather than one uniform stock-market event.