What was the name of the 1997–1998 crisis that began in Thailand and spread through East Asian financial markets?

The 1997–1998 crisis that began in Thailand and spread through East Asian markets was the Asian financial crisis.

Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate system on 2 July 1997, allowing the baht to float after intense pressure on the currency. The baht then lost substantial value, and investors reassessed other economies with high foreign-currency debt, property bubbles, and vulnerable banking systems.

The turmoil spread to Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and other economies. Stock markets and currencies plunged, companies struggled to repay dollar-denominated loans, and several countries sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund. The crisis also affected Russia and contributed to a broader period of international financial instability.

The event is sometimes called the Asian financial crisis or the East Asian financial crisis. It was not simply a stock-market decline: currency devaluations, banking failures, corporate debt, and emergency international lending were central parts of the story.