Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that Order 2019 would be effective starting from Tuesday (15th January 2019). This means that anyone caught operating unauthorised initial coin offerings (ICOs) or digital asset exchanges face a 10-year jail sentence and an RM10 million fine.
Cryptocurrencies, tokens and other digital assets will be categorised as securities henceforth, and fall under the regulation of the Securities Commission — an ongoing effort between Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission that has apparently been finalised.
As such, Lim Guan Eng said that “such instruments and their associated activities must be first approved by the SC”, and comply with the associated securities laws and regulations. This development tallies with the SC’s assertion that ICO regulations will come into effect in Q1 of 2019.
In the same announcement, Lim Guan Eng asserted that digital assets, to the Ministry of Finance, has a role to play as an alternative fundraising avenue for entrepreneurs and new businesses, and deems it as an alternate asset class for investors.
Update: Securities Commission Malaysia has issued an official statement which can be found here
Featured image via Lim Guan Eng
