While China is banning cryptocurrency exchanges, Malaysia is following the footsteps of Japan, towards regulating it. Unlike Japan, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are not recognised as a legal payment in Malaysia.
Malaysian Central Bank a.k.a. Bank Negara Malaysia aims to issue cryptocurrency regulation in early 2018 but nothing specific regarding the regulation has been said. It seems that the Malaysian government's main concern for cryptocurrencies is abusing the system for criminal and illegal activities, and would like to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. Under a new policy, digital currency exchangers will be categorised as reporting institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).
Among Malaysians, cryptocurrencies are being accepted at a fast pace, though many Malaysians still think it is a ponzi scheme.
One shop selling fish head noodle and curry noodles here has started accepting bitcoin or ethereum ! I do wonder why would anyone do that as the transaction time for bitcoin would take longer than the chef to serve the noodles and the transaction fees would cost more than the noodles. It is probably a marketing gimmick.
Next you could buy a car in Malaysia using Bitcoin/Ethereum ! A car showroom belonging to national automaker Proton, is now accepting both Bitcoin and Ethereum as a form of payment. Proton however did not confirm whether this is only limited to the particular showroom, or will be made available nationwide.
So you would be thinking that car is the biggest purchase you can make using bitcoin in Malaysia, wait until you read that land was sold using bitcoin !
A businessman in Sabah (A state in East Malaysia) has signed and sealed the sale of a piece of land in Sabah’s east coast Libaran Island using Bitcoin.
The deal, worth half a Bitcoin (about RM38,000, 1USD is approximately RM4), was transacted between one of Sabah’s top tourism entrepreneurs Alexander Yee and his friend Polycarp Chin.
At the time the deal was signed, a Bitcoin was valued at RM77,665.
Bitcoin and blockchain was also mentioned by Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak during Global Entrepreneur Summit 2017 and he seems to have a positive view towards it. I do ponder whether does he own any cryptocurrencies ?
While it all seems rosy, Malaysians recently do have difficulty buying Bitcoin/Ethereum as Luno, a Bitcoin company headquartered in London, popular among Malaysian cryptocurrency traders had their Malaysian bank account frozen for some time and Malaysians have difficulty to buy and sell bitcoins. (Coinbase does not have buy/sell feature for Malaysians)
Luno did mentioned that the cause was Internal Revenue Board (IRB) has temporarily frozen the bank account of BitX Malaysia (Luno's local entity in Malaysia), pending an investigation relating to tax matters. As part of this, the IRB has requested that Luno provide them with information on all Malaysian customers: identification, deposits/withdrawals, and transactions.
It does seems that they are working on this issue actively and has confirmed plans to set up an office in Kuala Lumpur, as they seek to capitalise on the skyrocketing interest in cryptocurrencies in the country.
Luno head of marketing and communications Werner van Rooyen said the move into Malaysia is significant as Luno plans to strengthen and multiply the deposit and withdrawal mechanisms.
“We are planning to formally launch the Luno Business accounts later in the year. Proximity to our banking partners and the local regulators like Bank Negara Malaysia will help us provide better services to the local market,” he said in an email to The Malaysian Reserve. Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2018/01/12/luno-open-office-kuala-lumpur-1q-2018/
I hope one day Malaysia would follow Japan's foot steps.
If you would like to start your crypto journey, you could start by opening a Luno or Coinbase account. For Malaysians, while luno isn't accepting Ringgit, you could use Remitano. As for trading coins, I would recommend KuCoin and Binance. I would greatly appreciate it if you used my referral link. Thank you and all the best in your crypto journey.