Malaysian Government Remains Undecided Legalizing Crypto
In the latest cryptocurrency news, government officials from Malaysia have reportedly revealed that they remain undecided in terms of determining whether or not to legalize digital currencies. This seems to suggest that the topic remains to be in heavy consideration, at least, in the country. Still, this did not stop individuals and companies from getting frustrated, especially since they have been looking for a way to seize the opportunity of developing the nation’s cryptocurrency industry.
Lagging Behind Forerunners
Unfortunately for Malaysia, some of its neighboring South East Asian nations have already embraced the idea of cryptocurrencies. Some of these countries include Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, among many others. These nations have found a way to regulate their respective digital currency markets with the one eye heavily focused on better adoption. Malaysia, in particular, is being left behind by these forerunners on the sub-continent it is part of.
Add to this the fact that the country is deemed to be among the very few South East Asian nations to impose an unclear and undefined stance towards cryptocurrencies. It is safe to assume that nobody – at least from the government officials – is sure if a decision will be made in the future or not. In fact, none of them can absolutely say that digital currencies are illegal or not.
When answering a question pertaining to the idea of whether cryptos are currently legal or not, Khalid Abdul Samad, who is the Malaysian federal territories minister, gave his own thoughts. For him, the answer cannot be absolutely defined by the terms legal and illegal. This is simply due to the fact that the whole narrative concerning digital currencies remains unclear.
Malaysia Facing Consequences
Unfortunately for Malaysia, this indecisiveness is bringing unwanted consequences. For starters, they are greatly behind other financial giants hailing from the South East Asia region. And while it is true that Thailand fought a difficult time just to draft and legalize a regulatory framework specifically meant for its own crypto market, the country is experiencing growth. For instance, it is able to spearhead the whole industry thanks to the Thai SEC, which has been responsible for giving more licenses to businesses that plan to enter the crypto world.
As for both Hong Kong and Singapore, they are also doing well on their own. Both countries have put forward better regularity measures aimed at developing their respective crypto markets.
In all fairness, Samad appears to be the only official from the government who promotes the idea of a Malaysian crypto market. In fact, he already tried to push bigger officials like Prime Miniser Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to utilize the so-called Harapan Coin. For Samad, this cryptocurrency can be used when it comes to any type of governmental transactions.