Malaysia continues accelerating its pace of cryptocurrency adoption as one of the major local banks is moving into cryptocurrency trading as part of its default banking offerings. Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, one of the largest private investment banks with more than 500,000 customers, has partnered with China’s tech giant Ant Group to launch a crypto-friendly wallet and trading app. According to an announcement on Wednesday, Kenanga has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ant to jointly develop Malaysia’s wealth application called categorized as a super app. Under the terms of the agreement, Ant’s digital technology unit will provide Kenanga with …

The Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia issued a statement on Aug. 22 regarding Huobi operations in the country. According to the statement, the crypto exchange is now on the SC’s Investor Alert List. Malaysian financial regulators say Huobi has been operating a digital asset exchange in the country without official registration with the SC. Huobi Global [https://t.co/la9Y3ntGuq] has been added to the SC’s Investor Alert List for operating a digital asset exchange (DAX) in Malaysia without being registered with the SC. pic.twitter.com/z3IGgnCa0t — SC Malaysia (@SecComMY) August 22, 2022 In a follow-up tweet, the SC said that any operations which …

An official at the Ministry of Finance of Malaysia reportedly opposed the idea of adopting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method following recent crypto-friendly proposals by the deputy communications minister. Malaysia has no plans to recognize BTC as legal tender, deputy finance minister Mohd Shahar Abdullah said in a parliamentary meeting on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg report. “Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not suitable for use as a payment instrument due to various limitations,” Mohd Shahar declared, citing risks like volatility and potential cyber threats. Instead of adopting cryptocurrency for payments, Malaysia will continue to focus on the …

The Malaysian Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) is reportedly backing the adoption of cryptocurrencies, with the deputy minister calling the government to legalize crypto. Deputy communications and multimedia minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin has urged Malaysia’s regulators to legalize certain use cases of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFT), local news agency Harian Metro reported on Monday. Zahidi pointed out that such measures would significantly support young people as the cryptocurrency industry has been growing increasingly popular among the younger generation. He also said that the KKMM is exploring ways to increase the participation of young people in the industry. …

Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume is returning to the Malaysian markets with a strategic stake in the country’s regulated digital asset trading platfrom MX Global. Binance and Cuscapi Berhad acquired a key stake in MX Global, one of the four Recognized Market Operators - Digital Asset Exchange licensed by the Securities Commission (SC) in Malaysia. Hello Malaysia. https://t.co/vsHzHlm7KI — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) March 1, 2022 The leading crypto exchange has a significant presence in the Asian region and with its new partnership in Malaysia, the exchange aims to expand the sustainable growth of the crypto market …

Enegra Group, a commodities trading firm based in Malaysia with a net asset value of $28 billion, has migrated its equity-tied EGX security tokens from to the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain from Ethereum (ETH). In 2019, Energra tokenized 100% of its equity, enabling shareholders to digitally exercise their dividend, voting, and governance rights. Both the initial tokenization and token migration were facilitated by Tokeny, an asset tokenization and compliance infrastructure provider. Matthew Averay, managing director and CEO at Enegra, said: We tokenized our equity to improve liquidity. And, now that the technology is available for faster, cheaper, and compliant transactions on …

The central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa have announced a joint initiative to trial international settlements using central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The initiative, dubbed Project Dunbar, will prototype shared platforms enabling direct transfers between institutions using digital currencies issued by multiple central banks. The pilot’s findings will be used to inform the “development of global and regional platforms” in addition to supporting the G20’s roadmap for improving cross-border payments. Project Dunbar will be carried out in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub from its Singapore Center. The project will engage multiple partners …

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) continues progressing with its central bank digital currency- (CBDC)-like initiative known as Bakong, disclosing several project milestones. NBC’s director general and the Bakong project lead Chea Serey said in a Wednesday interview with The Nikkei that Bakong’s electronic wallet reached 200,000 users in June, doubling from three months earlier. Based on blockchain technology, the Bakong payment and money transfer service was originally launched by the NBC in October 2020. The digital money project has amassed nearly six million users in the first half of 2021, including those reached indirectly through member bank mobile apps, …

Malaysia is the latest regulatory theater to come after Binance as authorities in the country have accused the exchange giant of continuing to operate in the country illegally. According to an announcement released on Friday, the Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia has served a public reprimand against Binance, calling for the exchange and all of its entities to cease operations in the country. The SC stated that Binance continued to operate in Malaysia despite previous warnings. Indeed, back in July 2020, Cointelegraph reported that Binance was not permitted to operate in Malaysia. At the time, the SC published an "Investor Alert …

Authorities in Malaysia destroyed more than $1.2 million worth of Bitcoin mining rigs after they were confiscated for operating illegally. In a video posted today from local news outlet DayakDaily, police in the city of Miri on the island of Borneo and the Sarawak Energy company arranged for a steamroller to run over 1,069 Bitcoin (BTC) miners. The rigs were reportedly confiscated from residents of Malaysia attempting to illegally mine the cryptocurrency using stolen electricity between February and April. According to a Friday report from Malaysian newspaper The Star, the disposal of the mining machines — worth roughly $1.26 million …

Blockchain associations from Australia and five Southeast Asian nations are joining forces to promote blockchain development and education. Blockchain organizations from Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday to promote blockchain collaboration in the Asia Pacific, Business Times reports. Initiated by Blockchain Association Singapore, or BAS, the MoU aims to engage with regulators to ensure legal compliance alongside raising industry awareness and education through a new blockchain consortium called the ASEAN Blockchain Consortium, or ABC. The ABC includes BAS, Blockchain Australia, Distributed Ledger Technology Association of the Philippines, Malaysia’s Labuan International Business and …

The Malaysia-based BCMG Genesis Bitcoin Fund-I, or BGBF-I, has officially launched, claiming to have become the first insured institutional crypto product available in the Southeast Asian region. An announcement states the fund launched in response to a growing demand for institutional crypto products in Southeast Asia. The fund leverages an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered blockchain-based platform provided by Calfin Global Crypto Exchang, which purports to offer increased security for customer holdings. BGBF-I is regulated in Labuan, Malaysia, where IBH Investment Bank serves as the fund’s main advisor. Professional financial services provider, Hong Kong-based Alpha Calibration, will provide regulatory compliance services, …