Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin Under Increasing Scrutiny on Island of Bali

https://cointelegraph.com/images/725_aHR0cHM6Ly9jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS9zdG9yYWdlL3VwbG9hZHMvdmlldy9jN2U3NmZmMWUzZDE3ZTZiZDJkNmY4MTQ2ZDE0YjY4OS5qcGc=.jpg

Bitcoin is under heavy surveillance on Bali, an island in the Indonesian archipelago, according to local reports. Central Bank officials are seeking to crack down on the use of the cryptocurrency anywhere in the nation. Causa Iman Karana, head of Bank Indonesia's representative office in Bali said:

    "We found out from some postings on social media that Bali appeared to have become a haven for Bitcoin transactions. The next step is we will ban them as mandated by the law. We ask them not to use it anymore. Along with the Directorate of Special Crime Investigation unit, we will enforce the rule that all transactions in Indonesia must use rupiah.”

The country had previously been reported as having significant local adoption of Bitcoin usage, but recent reports indicate that the government is trying to curtail the use of digital currencies. The risk of money laundering and criminal activity has led to the increased scrutiny.

The harsh rhetoric against Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies falls more in line with the Chinese and potential South Korean bans than the more lenient Australian position.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-under-increasing-scrutiny-on-island-of-bali

Wait, what?

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-30/australian-banks-reportedly-freeze-accounts-bitcoin-users

The 4 biggest banks of Australia (National Australia Bank, ANZ,
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Westpac Banking Corporation)
reportedly freeze every bank account that has crypto-related
transactions.

They are probably not doing this voluntarily, therefore I´d argue
that the position on Bitcoin by the Australian government is anything
but lenient.

This is expected because I have read in the past how strict the law and ordinances there are. I suppose they will do all mechanisms to revert back the control of money to the government. Of course, the government of the Island of Bali endeavor to take full control of how their financial system works. And to support the cause of cryptocurrencies at present would not be parallel to their national goals.

With what you have previously stated, I just feel terribly upset, though, with the fact that they freeze bank accounts of those suspected to have transactions related to cryptos. They should have at least ordained a law first to apprise the people before they act on something that will deprive people of their vested property.