The
Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, has yet to make a
decision on how to effectively regulate the use of digital currencies in
the country, according to local reports. One of the options being considered by the bank is the possible ban of virtual currencies.
Regulating the cryptocurrency market in Malaysia appears
harder than expected, and it is turning out to be that way across the
globe, as there are still very few countries which have introduced
active guidelines on the use of this new form of money.
Possible options for the Malaysian central bank
Implementing a complete ban on virtual currencies is
impossible under any circumstances since government cannot ban or
prohibit what they cannot control.
Some possible options that could be used by the central
bank, however, are the prohibition of banks from dealing with digital
currencies, the closure by banks of customer accounts using
cryptocurrencies, and forcing the use of cash through peer-to-peer (P2P)
marketplaces or decentralized exchange models.
Despite indecision by Bank Negara Malaysia, it is expected
that the issue of regulating cryptocurrencies will become clearer by the
end of 2017. It will be quite interesting to see whether the central
bank will officially authorize the use of the digital currencies or
repress the introduction of new innovations.
