An official from the Malaysian Ministry of Finance reportedly opposed the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method, following recent crypto-compatibility proposals by the Deputy Minister of Communications.
Malaysia has no plans to recognize BTC as legal tender, Deputy Finance Minister Mohd Shahar Abdullah said at a parliamentary meeting on Thursday, according to a report by Bloomberg.
“Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are not suitable for use as a payment instrument due to various limitations”Mohd Shahar stated, citing risks such as volatility and potential cyber threats.
Instead of adopting cryptocurrency for payments, Malaysia will continue to focus on the potential development of central bank digital currency (CBDC), the official added.stating:
“The growing payment and technology landscape has prompted Malaysia’s Bank Negara to actively assess the potential of CBDC.”
The Malaysian Ministry of Finance did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. This article will be updated pending new information.
Mohd Shahar’s remarks came shortly after Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, called on local regulators and lawmakers to legalize certain cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) use cases. on Monday. The official underlined that such measures would significantly support youth, as cryptocurrencies and NFTs have grown “massively” in popularity among the younger generation.
Some sources also they suggested that Zahidi proposed not only legalizing certain cryptocurrency transactions in Malaysia, but rather adopting cryptocurrency as legal tender.
Despite not being willing to adopt cryptocurrency as a means of payment, Malaysian regulators have apparently not restricted cryptocurrency trading so far, following in the footsteps of many other countries like Indonesia. In recent years, local authorities such as the Malaysian Securities Commission were issuing authorizations to cryptocurrency exchanges, while some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading companies were also expanding into the country.
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