Malaysian Ministry Says Bitcoin Is the Future of Finance, Calls for Legalization

The country’s deputy minister of communications and multimedia believes that crypto is the “future of finance.”

Malaysia’s Ministry of Communication and Multimedia, through its deputy, Datuk Zahidi Zainul, has urged the government that crypto assets such as bitcoin should be adopted as a legal tender in the country.

Zainul noted that legalizing this asset class will help its younger citizens get more involved in trading of cryptocurrencies, especially non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

The Future of Finance

The deputy minister also added that the ministry will set up various panels to boost youth’s involvement in crypto as it is the future of finance. 

“We hope the government can allow this. We are trying to see how we can legalize this so that we can develop youth participation in crypto and assist them,” Zahidi said.

Cryptocurrencies fall under the purview of the country’s central bank and securities commission.

Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, president of the Central Bank of Malaysia, said the country will be providing more digital currency options, including CBDC, in the coming years to help the nation’s financial sector capitalize on the new technologies. 

In an email interview with Bloomberg, the BNM Governor stated:

“We are going one step further by experimenting with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) over the next few years. There’s no better way to keep pace with something new than to try it ourselves,” Yunus said in an email interview with Bloomberg.

More Countries Open up to Legalizing Bitcoin

Since El Salvador became the first country in the world to officially make Bitcoin a legal tender, more nations have become more open to the idea of legalizing the asset class.

For instance, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently signed a new bill into law to legalize cryptocurrency activities in the country. Although Ukraine did not make the asset a legal tender like El Salvador, the new law makes it legal for people and firms to engage in crypto operations.

Similarly, Russia announced in February that it would treat Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as legal currencies. In other words, the country will recognize crypto assets “as an analog of currencies and not digital financial assets (DFA).”