Malaysian Ministry proposes cryptocurrencies as legal tender?

[Fundamentals Of]

Not yet out of hand. There's only one country where Bitcoin is accepted as legal tender.

It is always better if Bitcoin is accepted legally across the world. It would become the only truly global currency. Any Bitcoin user doesn't have to convert into another local currency every time he travels anywhere in the world and spends money. He will also make savings out of fiat currency exchange spread. So I always support countries adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender. But even if not a legal tender for as long as Bitcoin is accepted as a currency and a form of payment then it will be all right.

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[Wexnident]

it's just the start, though I honestly think we'd see more updates with this until at least a year or two. It seems like it was only talked about as an answer to a question, a passing thought so to say imo. There's probably still going to be a lot of talks and stuff that they would need to do before deciding anything else. Still, I think it should develop rather positively, I don't think putting it out as a legal tender would bring any actual negatives whatsoever to them.

[kidbounty]

Okay now this is getting out of hand! After El Salvador being the first, to Honduras set to make BTC as legal tender soon, and now this??

It is not only Malaysia, but also Mexico [1] and Ukraine (at least plans before the war) want to introduce Bitcoin as an official means of payment. There are certainly other countries that have recognized the advantages and just haven't made it public yet.


[1] https://www.cityam.com/mexico-being-lined-up-as-next-nation-for-full-bitcoin-adoption/

more and more countries are planning to make bitcoin legal. Malaysia, Mexico, and Ukraine are among the countries currently discussing this. I also heard India also wants to try. The last information I know, they want to charge a pretty high tax, but that's just a discussion, and they haven't made a decision.

this proves that bitcoin is starting to make its way to wider adoption.

[ChiBitCTy]

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/malaysian-ministry-proposes-legal-tender-of-crypto-currency

Okay now this is getting out of hand! After El Salvador being the first, to Honduras set to make BTC as legal tender soon, and now this???

This is just a proposal for now, so there’s no official word yet if it’s already official. You think this is a good idea for Malaysia to make Bitcoin as legal tender after some countries are following the footsteps of El Salvador?

What are your thoughts about this guys?

Lol why do you say “Okay this is getting out of hand” ? What’s wrong with this? Personally I think this is a great thing that’s only giving bitcoin more positive exposure and use cases. I think giving its citizens a second option is a smart thing by the government. This can help its citizens prosper, so why not make it legal tender?

[stompix]

@DdmrDdmr and Lucius

Same story again, right?
One guy says something about legalizing crypto or a part of crypto trading or something else and the crypto press blows everything out of proportion. Right now I honestly don't know why people are even mentioning FUD for something going wrong when every single day we're bombarded with exaggerations like this, to me the previous FUD seems now more like reality to balance things out.

That aside, I don't agree with example with the mining aspect, even if bitcoin becomes legal tender if somebody is caught stealing electricity the outcome will be the same, the public aversion is towards the miners and in a lot of cases, this happens all over the world in different scenarios. Everyone hates coal till their electric bill comes, everyone hates pesticides until they realize nothing is grown in their trees without, and a lot hate Amazon until it's time to buy something and they look at the prices.
I would do that rolling myself if I would catch something doing the same, especially since it hurts my own profits.  

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country with a cryptocurrency ownership rate of 20%, ranking 2nd in the region after Vietnam, accounting for 28% of the population.

Two years from now on Indonesia will have 208% Philippines 356% and Nepal no less than 1001%.

[nullama]

There are other places in which you can pay government services with Bitcoin, here's a list

If you're considering what would be the next country to make it legal tender, then my guess was Tonga, but the recent tsunami might have slowed down that.

El Salvador definitely kick-started the process, now a lot of countries are considering, and watching closely. But until a law is at least written, then there's not much to discuss about it.

[UserU]

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country with a cryptocurrency ownership rate of 20%, ranking 2nd in the region after Vietnam, accounting for 28% of the population. Currently, bitcoin is also the most sought after and owned crypto in this country.
Deputy Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin predicts crypto will be the financial industry in the future, so he wants the government to approve this proposal soon to attract young people to participate in crypto more to boost the economy of Malaysia.

Trading, probably. In daily usage, near-zero as eWallets/ QR payments triumph there.

[Lucius]

@DdmrDdmr and Lucius
Same story again, right?
One guy says something about legalizing crypto or a part of crypto trading or something else and the crypto press blows everything out of proportion. Right now I honestly don't know why people are even mentioning FUD for something going wrong when every single day we're bombarded with exaggerations like this, to me the previous FUD seems now more like reality to balance things out.

It seems like something similar to what happened to Tonga and some of their lord who advocated Bitcoin, although I don’t want to claim that both politicians are equally important in their countries. Whether we like it or not, some people will benefit from this kind of news, because for months people have been profiting from "buy low, sell high" in the range of $35k - $45k, and everyone wants something positive to happen since on the one hand we have a war, and on the other hand inflation is just beginning to seriously stifle us.

That aside, I don't agree with example with the mining aspect, even if bitcoin becomes legal tender if somebody is caught stealing electricity the outcome will be the same, the public aversion is towards the miners and in a lot of cases, this happens all over the world in different scenarios.

As for the theft of electricity, there is no doubt - theft is theft no matter what status Bitcoin had in a country. I was thinking more of the general perception of the public because of such events combined with what their finance minister thinks when it comes to Bitcoin. All this together does not seem to be a fertile ground for declaring Bitcoin a legal tender.

Everyone hates coal till their electric bill comes, everyone hates pesticides until they realize nothing is grown in their trees without, and a lot hate Amazon until it's time to buy something and they look at the prices.
I would do that rolling myself if I would catch something doing the same, especially since it hurts my own profits.  

I've never bought anything using Amazon, and I don't use any poisons for my personal use in growing fruits and vegetables - and yet I manage to grow healthy vegetables and fruits. There is always an alternative if one makes an effort, but I will not say that this path is easy or cheap.

[elisabetheva]

there doesn't seem to be an official explanation, but it has only been proposed by the Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, which proposes that digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies can be adopted as legal tender. his proposal is to help the younger generation become active users of digital currencies, including on non-fungible token (NFT) platforms.

but this is something progress for the Malaysian state even though it is only a discourse, because previously the country had never recognized bitcoin, as a legal tender issued by the central bank. it means that there is progress at this time, they are willing to accept it because of the situation that made the change, because they have to follow developments.

Of course this will create good news for bitcoin and will add even more good news that will make many investors confident as more and more countries and large institutions accept bitcoin as legal tender.

[Taskford]

to be honest i like the news like this but so much politican people just make voice want to crypto as legal tender and after that just become old news. i want act  or atleast before make crypto as legal tender country need as slowly accept crypto at first place as asset instead of banning the crypto they can make money from make tax from crypto. and from this we can see adoption crypto everywhere

If they are able to make taxes out of crypto money really big profits are theirs right.
But if they turn them into crypto money instead of their money, I don't think it will be possible.
Let's imagine if the value of crypto money dropped like it is today.
How do they pay when the price of the cryptocurrency decreases.
Of course they will be complicated.

Yes this could be another huge source of profit for their country so making it legal is one of the good decision they could ever do because imagine how big the cryptocurrency in terms of marketcap and for sure the benefits they can get out from it is huge to so maybe they should consider that and file a law about adopting it as well the proper education about its usage,scams and other more so that they can launch this to their country more smoothly.

[Furious 7]

The bitcoin movement is getting more and more widespread and this is certainly very good.
This means now Malaysia will be one of the pioneers if this is indeed approved, especially for those in Asia.
Now many countries have started to support and see that bitcoin is indeed one of the profitable things, so it's not wrong for them to do that because this is something very good to wait for in the future

[YOSHIE]

What are your thoughts about this guys?

Yesterday, if I'm not mistaken in the Economics section I saw about this news, Malaysia will adopt and treat Bitcoin as an asset or digital currency that can make transactions online.

I think the idea, the Malaysian minister's appeal against Bitcoin policy will have a positive impact on the Malaysian people and country, but there is a bad side and a negative for those who are not native Malaysians aka illegal immigrants, I believe if the Malaysian ministry's idea is approved by the Malaysian prime minister, I'm sure many companies in Malaysia will apply Bitcoin payments, it will make it difficult for illegal workers there, As far as I know, the work of workers in companies in Malaysia are mostly illegal immigrants who do not have official permission from the Malaysian government, that's what I'm worried about, it could be that illegal jobs that do not have exchanges licensed by the Malaysian government will be a disaster for them, because one of the conditions for registering on the crypto exchange is KYC, this will be a phenomenon of cutting illegal jobs in Malaysia.

[perfect999]

There are other places in which you can pay government services with Bitcoin, here's a list

If you're considering what would be the next country to make it legal tender, then my guess was Tonga, but the recent tsunami might have slowed down that.

El Salvador definitely kick-started the process, now a lot of countries are considering, and watching closely. But until a law is at least written, then there's not much to discuss about it.

The list of countries that accepts bitcoin as a legal tender is slowly growing. Before it was only one country El Salvador but now there are three new additions from your list and there is a new one here in the op. Although the three on your list didn't officially announced that they are now adopting btc as a legal tender, it is still considered because you can now use your btc directly on some service.

Toga is another country that is going to join the list but unfortunately they faced a problem there. No need to hurry though, what they did is right. They first need to prioritize the problem caused by tsunami before proceeding on legalizing btc as legal tender.

[titular]

If they are going to implement their law in the same fashion as El Salvador did, I will not be a huge fan.

Let me be clear; I love what El Salvador is trying to do, but what they did was clearly not in regard to the people's interests. In El Salvador, this was a bill that was passed in the dead of night, without the people of El Salvador knowing what was really going on.

If Malaysia intends on making bitcoin legal tender, I hope they do it in a more open and transparent way.

[tyz]

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country with a cryptocurrency ownership rate of 20%, ranking 2nd in the region after Vietnam, accounting for 28% of the population. Currently, bitcoin is also the most sought after and owned crypto in this country.

Personally, I always wonder how such numbers or surveys are measured in such countries, since many people there live rather rural and poor and many also have no cell phones. Are there any accurate statistics on exactly how crypto currency ownership breaks down? So by strata of the population, age, gender, etc.?

[nullama]

~snip~
Personally, I always wonder how such numbers or surveys are measured in such countries, since many people there live rather rural and poor and many also have no cell phones. Are there any accurate statistics on exactly how crypto currency ownership breaks down? So by strata of the population, age, gender, etc.?

My guess is that in those small countries they only have total population and the number of people registered at local exchanges, or similar things like that. Then they just divide them to get the rough percentage.

There are some stats from the US:

Gemini, a popular cryptocurrency exchange and issuer of a Bitcoin rewards credit card, released a report this month looking at the crypto habits of 3,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 65, with $40,000 or more in household income.
Within this sample, the report found that the average cryptocurrency owner is a 38-year-old male making approximately $111,000 a year.
In addition, 74 percent of crypto holders are men, and 71 percent are white.

[Natalim]

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/malaysian-ministry-proposes-legal-tender-of-crypto-currency

Okay now this is getting out of hand! After El Salvador being the first, to Honduras set to make BTC as legal tender soon, and now this???

This is just a proposal for now, so there’s no official word yet if it’s already official. You think this is a good idea for Malaysia to make Bitcoin as legal tender after some countries are following the footsteps of El Salvador?

What are your thoughts about this guys?

Yes, absolutely. We can see how it becomes realized in El Salvador and their citizens are then accepted so I expect the people from Malaysia will also be glad to finally see Bitcoin has been legalized.

I don't just think that the leader had followed El Salvador but probably, they see the economic help of crypto to the country and their people. I expect this to happen and besides, the majority of the ASIAN countries welcome crypto in their place, and not even hard for them to legalize it since they are already familiar with this.

[henmark]

Okay now this is getting out of hand! After El Salvador being the first, to Honduras set to make BTC as legal tender soon, and now this???

This is just a proposal for now, so there’s no official word yet if it’s already official. You think this is a good idea for Malaysia to make Bitcoin as legal tender after some countries are following the footsteps of El Salvador?

Doesn’t seem a bad idea to me as long as the citizens in that county are good with it and are ready for it to be adopted as a legal tender. I have seen some surveys that are being carried out sometimes to get people’s  opinion on questions like this.

So, I don’t think that it is a bad idea to have it as a legal tender, but it would be a currency alongside the original fiat that is being used by that country.But there are still people who think that adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender in a country is a pure folly. That’s why I pointed out that before any government goes about doing this, they should be sure about it.

The bitcoin movement is getting more and more widespread and this is certainly very good.
This means now Malaysia will be one of the pioneers if this is indeed approved, especially for those in Asia.
Now many countries have started to support and see that bitcoin is indeed one of the profitable things, so it's not wrong for them to do that because this is something very good to wait for in the future

But sometimes I do worry about this adoption of bitcoin as a legal tender by some countries. It makes me wonder what would be the next step that the government is going to take after they are done with making it a legal tender. Would this be a step towards making bitcoin become centralized?

Yeah, I have seen news about the new strategy that the government might start to apply now, which has been the reason Coinbase CEO has advised cryptocurrency community to make sure that they stick with decentralized wallets. Bitcoin don’t have to be approved by the government before we can make use of it, anyone is free to use it.

[UserU]

Meh, the MOF rejected the proposal over the following reason:

Malaysia’s Deputy Finance Minister II Yamani Hafez Musa says that crypto is not a suitable method of payment for the country.

“Digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are not suitable to be used as a payment instrument as these assets do not exhibit characteristics of money,” he said

Source: https://beincrypto.com/crypto-does-not-exhibit-money-characteristics-says-malaysia-deputy-finance-director/

[darkangel11]

Don't get your hopes up too much because this is pretty much just a proposal — whereas obviously there is no guarantee of it getting accepted in the end. Baby steps though, so it's still technically good news.

Funny how news such as this doesn't get the community hyped up as much as it used to back then though lol. If this was in 2017 we'd be up 10% almost instantly.

Same as that Russian proposal to accept Bitcoin as payment for oil and gas. All big decisions start with proposals

A few smart people said last year that it's only a matter of time before countries and big investment funds decide it's a good idea to have 1% in Bitcoin because they can afford to lose 1% but what if that 1% goes up 300% in a year? Also, what if their money gets frozen by a bank just like they froze people's money in Russia and before that in Cyprus. Funds get frozen byt with Bitcoin you can still pay people's wages, you can continue to operate while working on getting your money released. The same with rich people you can get into argument with a bank but it takes time and you could have some urgent expenses. Bitcoin takes care of that.