Many countries are coming up with their own ways of dealing with cryptocurrencies, and Malaysia is the latest country to make an announcement. Bank Negara Malaysia’s governor, Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim, said that the bank hopes to come up with regulations and guidelines governing the use of cryptocurrencies in Malaysia by the end of 2017.
The announcement was made at the Global Symposium on Development Financial Institutions. Muhammad said that the BNM would issue clear guidelines for anyone who wishes to be a part of the cryptocurrency wave. The guidelines are to prevent money laundering and terrorist funding using cryptocurrencies, something that is a constant bother for authorities all over the world.
Other countries are dealing with cryptocurrencies in their own way. For instance, China, which accounted for nearly one-fourth of the global bitcoin trade, announced earlier this month that all bitcoin exchanges in China would be shut down. It is also reported that Chinese government will prevent citizens from continuing trading using foreign exchanges, effectively banning bitcoin trading in the country. Russia, on the other hand, is going pro-cryptocurrency, with the Moscow Stock Exchange beginning to accept cryptocurrencies. The USA is also planning its actions against cryptocurrencies. It has already started investigating initial coin offerings (ICOs) and has prevented two cryptocurrencies from launching their ICOs.
ICOs involve the cryptocurrency developers offering tokens of their cryptocurrency to investors at low prices. The investors buy a large quantity of them, thinking the price will hike sooner rather than later and they can sell them for a huge profit. The developers end up raising a lot of money in a short period of time. Many countries are skeptical about this and want to prevent investors from succumbing to the misdeeds of fake cryptocurrencies. BNM’s statement, too, comes on the back of a warning from the Securities Commission Malaysia. This was a warning to the public, informing them of the risks involving ICOs. People can end up losing a lot of money if they invest heavily into a cryptocurrency that turns out to be fake.
Some, like JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, believe that even the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is a fraud and will collapse soon. Despite this, trading in cryptocurrencies is on the rise. Many companies today invest in and accept cryptocurrency payments, but there are concerns surrounding this blockchain technology as well.
Money laundering and terrorist funding are the two major issues involving cryptocurrencies. While BNM and Malaysia accept that the country needs to accept cryptocurrencies, they also understand the risks involved. The decision to come up with guidelines to protect investors and users from harm and prevent misuse of cryptocurrencies is a positive move by BNM, one that will help Malaysians wanting to be a part of the cryptocurrency mania.
The announcement was made at the Global Symposium on Development Financial Institutions. Muhammad said that the BNM would issue clear guidelines for anyone who wishes to be a part of the cryptocurrency wave. The guidelines are to prevent money laundering and terrorist funding using cryptocurrencies, something that is a constant bother for authorities all over the world.
Other countries are dealing with cryptocurrencies in their own way. For instance, China, which accounted for nearly one-fourth of the global bitcoin trade, announced earlier this month that all bitcoin exchanges in China would be shut down. It is also reported that Chinese government will prevent citizens from continuing trading using foreign exchanges, effectively banning bitcoin trading in the country. Russia, on the other hand, is going pro-cryptocurrency, with the Moscow Stock Exchange beginning to accept cryptocurrencies. The USA is also planning its actions against cryptocurrencies. It has already started investigating initial coin offerings (ICOs) and has prevented two cryptocurrencies from launching their ICOs.
ICOs involve the cryptocurrency developers offering tokens of their cryptocurrency to investors at low prices. The investors buy a large quantity of them, thinking the price will hike sooner rather than later and they can sell them for a huge profit. The developers end up raising a lot of money in a short period of time. Many countries are skeptical about this and want to prevent investors from succumbing to the misdeeds of fake cryptocurrencies. BNM’s statement, too, comes on the back of a warning from the Securities Commission Malaysia. This was a warning to the public, informing them of the risks involving ICOs. People can end up losing a lot of money if they invest heavily into a cryptocurrency that turns out to be fake.
Some, like JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, believe that even the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, is a fraud and will collapse soon. Despite this, trading in cryptocurrencies is on the rise. Many companies today invest in and accept cryptocurrency payments, but there are concerns surrounding this blockchain technology as well.
Money laundering and terrorist funding are the two major issues involving cryptocurrencies. While BNM and Malaysia accept that the country needs to accept cryptocurrencies, they also understand the risks involved. The decision to come up with guidelines to protect investors and users from harm and prevent misuse of cryptocurrencies is a positive move by BNM, one that will help Malaysians wanting to be a part of the cryptocurrency mania.