Thailand’s currency during the 1997 Asian financial crisis was the baht, whose devaluation helped trigger regional turmoil.
On 2 July 1997, Thailand abandoned its fixed exchange-rate system and allowed the baht to float. The currency then lost substantial value, exposing weaknesses in Thai banks, finance companies, and heavily indebted businesses. Investors began reassessing other Asian economies with similar vulnerabilities.
The crisis spread through financial markets in Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, and elsewhere. Falling currencies increased the local cost of foreign-currency debt, while collapsing asset prices damaged companies and banks. Stock markets across the region suffered major losses.
The baht is often confused with the ringgit, rupiah, or won because those currencies were also central to the regional crisis. The baht was the Thai currency at the starting point of the crisis, while the ringgit is Malaysia’s currency, the rupiah Indonesia’s, and the won South Korea’s.