Skip to main content

Cryptocurrency Trading Surges in Malaysia as Lockdown Cripples Economy

Cryptocurrency Trading Surges in Malaysia as Lockdown Cripples Economy

Cryptocurrency trading in Malaysia has surged as the country endures an extended lockdown, costing its economy an estimated $550 million a day. Regulated cryptocurrency exchanges are reporting substantial growth in trading volumes and new users as people seek “a good store of value in difficult economic times.”

Increased Crypto Trading Volumes and New Users

Interest in cryptocurrency has grown significantly in Malaysia amid the extended lockdown restricting travel and nonessential businesses. The country estimates that 2.4 billion ringgit ($553 million) are lost each day that businesses remain shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the worldwide economic crisis, cryptocurrency trading in Malaysia has shown strong growth, according to two government-approved crypto exchanges. Luno, Malaysia’s first fully approved digital asset exchange, told The Malaysian Reserve publication that local trading volumes on its platform grew 33% over the past four weeks. Luno Malaysia manager Aaron Tang said the number of active users on his exchange hit a record high during that period. “There are a plethora of digital coin investors in Malaysia,” Tang told the news outlet, elaborating:

We believe the surge is partly driven by the belief that cryptocurrencies (particularly bitcoin) are a good store of value in difficult economic times.

The Luno manager explained that some investors are using cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, to diversify their portfolios, because they are worried that huge stimulus packages and the global economic crisis could lead to inflation.

Cryptocurrency Trading Surges in Malaysia as Lockdown Cripples Economy
The two approved cryptocurrency exchanges in Malaysia have experienced increased trading volumes and signups. “We believe the surge is partly driven by the belief that cryptocurrencies (particularly bitcoin) are a good store of value in difficult economic times,” Luno Malaysia noted.

The second fully approved cryptocurrency exchange operator, Tokenize Technology, has also experienced an increase in user signups. CEO Hong Qi Yu told the news outlet that his platform is seeing an average daily trading volume increase of 30% to 40%.

“We are quite fresh but see that Malaysians are quite eager to sign up,” he was quoted as saying. However, he added that most people are still taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to cryptocurrency investing, estimating that only 2% of Malaysia’s population of over 30 million has adequate cryptocurrency knowledge.

Malaysian Cryptocurrency Regulation

Malaysia’s securities commission (SC), Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia, started regulating the country’s cryptocurrency industry on Jan. 15 last year, when “the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019” went into effect.

Cryptocurrency Trading Surges in Malaysia as Lockdown Cripples Economy
Malaysia’s securities commission, Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia, started regulating the cryptocurrency industry in January last year. The Commission has approved three crypto exchanges so far, two of which are fully approved.

The Commission approved three cryptocurrency exchanges conditionally last year: Luno Malaysia, Sinegy Technologies, and Tokenize Technology. Luno soon met the regulator’s requirements and became the first exchange to receive full approval. Earlier this month, Tokenize Technology also met the requirements.

Suruhanjaya Sekuriti Malaysia clarified when the regulation went into effect: “Entities which have not been approved by the SC, including those which have previously been operating under the transitional period, are required to cease all activities immediately and return all monies and assets collected from investors.”

What do you think about Malaysia’s increased interest in cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Cryptocurrency Trading Surges in Malaysia as Lockdown Cripples Economy appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/2SjZlv8
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...
10 comments
Read more

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...
Post a Comment
Read more

2021 Bitcoin Price Predictions: Analysts Forecast BTC Values Will Range Between Zero to $600K

As bitcoin has touched new price highs on Thursday nearing the $50k handle, people have been curious as to where the price will go in the future. Meanwhile, despite the gains so far, a number of luminaries, analysts, executives, and proponents from the crypto space believe the leading crypto asset will reach between $60k to six-digits this year. Mike Novogratz Predicts $100K Bitcoin: ‘Other CFOs and CEOs Are Saying, What Should We Be Doing?’ Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention has gained mass appeal in recent times as the leading digital asset bitcoin ( BTC ) has reached its highest value ever in 2021. On Thursday morning (EST), BTC spiked to an all-time high (ATH) at $48,697 per unit. Earlier in the morning at around 2 a.m., bitcoin was exchanging hands for $44,485 and saw an 8.98% increase since then. At the time of publication, at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on February 11, 2021, bitcoin (BTC) is swapping for $47,821 per coin. With BTC so close to the $50k mark, people have been forecasting ...
Post a Comment
Read more