A lot of countries around the world are actively contemplating Bitcoin regulation. When that happens, one of two things will happen. Either the government bans cryptocurrency altogether, or they allow it to thrive. In Malaysia, there have been conflicting reports about what the future may hold for Bitcoin. Deputy finance minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani stated how there is no plan to effectively deem cryptocurrencies to be illegal. That is good news, although the actual regulation has yet to be presented to the world.
Malaysia is not a region most people associate with major cryptocurrency activity. That is not surprising whatsoever. The lack of clear Bitcoin regulation makes it difficult for consumers and businesses to embrace cryptocurrency. Thankfully, that situation will come to change very soon. The local central bank is actively working on regulation. The big question is how positive or negative these new guidelines will be in the end.
Malaysia Won’t ban Bitcoin After all
Some sources claim Malaysia wants to ban all cryptocurrencies. It would appear to be the most logical outcome, after all. However, the local deputy finance minister surprised us all by contradicting such statements. More specifically, there is no plan – or reason -to consider cryptocurrencies as illegal. The country wants to pursue every option for financial innovation. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can certainly play a big role in this process.
Deputy finance minister Johari comments as follows:
“The government is fully aware of the need to strike a balance between public interest and integrity of the financial system, similar to any financial and investment schemes, there is a need to have proper regulation and supervision to ensure any risk associated with such schemes are effectively contained.”
This semi-positive approach to cryptocurrency regulation is somewhat surprising. After all, Asian countries are mainly leaning toward banning cryptocurrency activity altogether. Malaysia may reap some of the economic advantages of taking this approach. It will be interesting to see what the actual Bitcoin regulation will entail when it is made public, though. For now, there is still no official ETA on when these guidelines will be presented.