With the increasing interest of people living in Malaysia, one of the countries with the highest crypto adoption, in cryptocurrencies; Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Bitcoin (BTC) He called for increased adoption and legalization of cryptocurrencies, including
Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia, on Monday recommended that the Malaysian government legalize cryptocurrencies to help the younger generation who have expressed a strong interest in the cryptocurrency industry and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Malaysia’s approach to adoption
Speaking at a session in the Malaysian parliament on Monday, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin urged the Malaysian government to adopt cryptocurrencies as the local currency, as he thinks finance is the future.
In response to a question from Member of Parliament Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh about the government’s stance on trading on NFT platforms, which are becoming increasingly popular with the younger generation, the Deputy Minister replied:
“All this is under the jurisdiction of Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission. We hope the government will allow and legalize it so we can increase youth adoption of cryptocurrencies.”
Besides, Deputy Minister Abidin said that the ministry will explore ways to increase youth participation in cryptocurrencies and NFTs, and that he thinks the adoption of crypto is an important step in Malaysia’s advancement in the burgeoning industry.
Malaysian government’s stance on cryptocurrencies
The Malaysian government has maintained its negative stance on cryptocurrencies since the industry began to gain popularity; however, it also allowed crypto exchanges such as Luno, Huobi, and Kraken to operate legally in the country.
Also, Malaysia in September; He expressed interest in the Bank of International Settlements’ (BIS) Dunbar Project, which aims to test the use of CBDCs for international settlements through a common platform that includes countries such as Australia, Singapore and South Africa.
Although some members of parliament have a positive outlook on crypto, Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Yamani Hafez Musa recently said in a parliamentary session that cryptocurrencies are not regulated by Malaysian central bank Bank Negara Malaysia for payments, adding:
“Digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum are not suitable for use as a means of payment… In general, digital assets are not a store of value and a good medium of exchange.”
However, Malaysia has a high crypto adoption rate, especially among the younger generation, and many people are trading crypto and NFT. Some politicians are also happy with these developments and think that the benefits of cryptocurrency in financial innovation are huge, but the final decision still seems to be in the hands of parliament.
Disclaimer: What is written here is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments are high-risk investments. Every investment decision is under the individual’s own responsibility. Finally, Koinfinans and the author of this content cannot be held responsible for personal investment decisions.