This Wednesday, the guidelines on the regulation of cryptocurrency platforms in Malaysia came into effect. The announcement was made by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), the official capital markets regulator of the nation
The watchdog actually already released the guidelines way back in January. It proposed frameworks for digital asset custodians (DACs) and initial exchange offerings (IEO). Notably, it stated that digital coin offering to be mandated only through IEO in the country.
The Malaysian overseer detailed,
“IEO platform operators will be required to assess and conduct the necessary due diligence on the issuer, review the issuer’s proposal and the disclosures in the whitepaper, and assess the issuer’s ability to comply with the requirements of the Guidelines and the SC’s Guidelines on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing,”
The new regulations have brought about other ICO restrictions: an RM100 million ceiling will be applicable to initial coin offerings. However, blockchain firms can raise funds from angel and institutional investors, as well as through token offering strategies.
All initial exchange offering platform must absolutely be operating with a license from the Malaysian regulator. The regulator reminded in a statement that,
“Any person found to be operating a digital exchange or offering or distributing any digital assets without the SC’s authorization commits an offense and may be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding ten million ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or both.”
