Malaysia demands customer identification on crypto exchanges

The government of Malaysia is not going to idly witness as the money is being laundered through the local cryptocurrency exchanges - this is the clear signal that it is sending towards regional financial institutions this week. The financial regulators of the country have also reminded that it is illegal to use cryptocurrency as a means of payment in Malaysia and that the customers of exchanges must verify their identity. This step might hamper the work of said exchanges before they adapt to these new rules of the game.

The notions about money laundering and counter-terrorism are nothing new in this state in Southeast Asia: older reports by Bitnewstoday suggest that the Bank Negara Malaysia (local central bank and financial regulator) was interested in countering unlawful activities in this sphere even before Bitcoin reached $5,000 for the first time.

The overall behavior of the regulator towards the crypto market of Malaysia resembles the South Korean approach. However, Malaysia never banned initial coin offerings, although warned of its risky nature. As investor Don Tapscott would probably say, unlike South Korea, Malaysia did not miss its historical opportunity.