Law enforcement officials in Malaysia recently arrested ten individuals linked to a criminal syndicate that allegedly used cryptocurrencies to launder fraudulent proceeds. Assets, including motor vehicles, valued at more than .7 million were seized, and bank accounts holding approximately .8 million were frozen. Syndicate Accused of Channeling Illegally Acquired Funds into Malaysia Authorities in Malaysia […]
Bitcoin News
Malaysian Regulator Orders Crypto Exchange Huobi Global to Halt Operations in the Country
The Malaysian securities regulator announced on May 22 that the crypto exchange Huobi Global Limited and its CEO Leon Li have been reprimanded for operating in the Asian country illegally. The regulator also revealed that the crypto exchange has been told to stop soliciting investments via emails and social media platforms.
Crypto Exchange Told to Disable Its Website
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said on May 22 that it had “issued a public reprimand against Huobi Global Limited, and [CEO] Leon Li for operating illegally in Malaysia.” In addition to the public censure, the Malaysian securities regulator also ordered the crypto exchange platform to stop operating in the country.
According to the regulator, Huobi must “disable its website and mobile application on several platforms such as Apple Store or Google Play.” Besides ordering the crypto exchange to stop inviting investors to its platform, the statement released by the regulator said the crypto exchange should also stop soliciting investments via emails or social media platforms.
In the statement, the Malaysian regulator said the decision to bar Huobi Global was made after it noted the crypto platform’s compliance failures.
“This decision comes after concerns about the platform’s compliance with local regulatory requirements and protecting investors’ interests. The SC views this breach seriously, as operating a DAX [digital asset exchange] without obtaining the SC’s registration as a Recognised Market Operator (RMO) is an offence under Section 7(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007,” the Securities Commission Malaysia said in the statement.
The Malaysian regulator also warned users of Huobi to “immediately cease trading through its platform, withdraw all their investments, and close their accounts.”
Meanwhile, the SC statement also advised Malaysian investors to deal with RMOs as these have “undergone strict regulatory scrutiny” and “are required to adhere” to guidelines that protect users. On the other hand, the securities regulator said those investing in unlicensed entities “may not be protected under Malaysian securities laws.”
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Wanchain Partners with Malaysian E-commerce Giant PUC Berhad on Enterprise Solutions
Wanchain – the blockchain project that seeks to build the future of digital finance through blockchain-to-blockchain interoperability, has just announced that it has formed a partnership with Malaysian eCommerce leader and digital creator, PUC Berhad.
The company – which is publicly listed in Malaysia, is behind a number of well-known ventures such as online eCommerce hub PrestoMall, and Presto Super App.
The news once again reaffirms Wanchain’s long-term vision of bridging the gap between real-world companies and blockchain integration.
Loyalty points, credit scoring and more
The newly formed partnership will see Wanchain act as the core provider for PUC Berhad’s long-term blockchain strategy. Through Wanchain’s enterprise solution initiative, PUC Berhad will be able to use the project’s private chain for a number of key business objectives.
For example, the blockchain integration will allow PUC Berhad to facilitate decentralized credit scoring. This is an area of decentralization that has excited the cryptocurrency community for some time now, with the underlying technology able to execute secure identity and credit scoring tasks while at the same time, enable consumers to retain full control over their sensitive financial data.
On top of credit scoring, PUC Berhad will also be looking to apply a tokenization strategy to its loyalty point system. This will allow the company to distribute loyalty points via the blockchain with ease, in a cost-effective and fully transparent manner.
Facilitating Microlending for PUC Berhad
A further, and perhaps even more interesting opportunity that the partnership will yield is that of PUC Berhad’s ambition to engage in microlending. This is something that blockchain technology is highly suited for, especially when one considers the low-cost and fast processing times that cryptocurrencies offer.
Ordinarily, microlending via fiat currency is a highly challenging arena for lenders, not least because fees often outweigh the actual cost of the loan itself – subsequently making it unviable.
When asked about the partnership, Kenneth Hiew – Group Chief Commercial Officer at PUC Berhad, was quoted as saying: “A partnership with Wanchain will strengthen our position in the blockchain vertical as we look to incorporate this groundbreaking technology in various aspects of our business. We look forward to working together to bring added efficiencies, customer offerings, and other benefits to PUC’s ecosystem.”
Outside of its proprietary Presto Mall online marketplace and Presto Super App, PUC Berhad is also involved in a number of other key sectors. This includes a strong foothold in payment solutions and media services, and ongoing research and development of innovative financial technologies, digital imaging, and artificial intelligence.
Wanchain CEO Hints That Further Partnerships are in the Making
Hinting at further impending partnerships with conventional offline sectors, Jack Lu – Wanchain Founder and CEO, noted that “The partnership with PUC is only the first of several upcoming cooperations between Wanchain and traditional companies looking to integrate blockchain into their businesses, and is significant not only for the Wanchain organization, but for the greater adoption and use of blockchain worldwide.”
Lu continued to add that the project aims to become the “go-to blockchain for businesses looking to take advantage of the uniquely powerful benefits blockchain brings.”
All-in-all, partnerships with traditional organizations – especially those with a publicly listed status, are crucial for global adoption of blockchain technology. As such, it is hoped that the cryptocurrency community is accustomed to further real-world partnerships in the coming months.
The post Wanchain Partners with Malaysian E-commerce Giant PUC Berhad on Enterprise Solutions appeared first on NewsBTC.
Malaysian Prime Minister Proposes Gold-Backed Currency, But Why Not Bitcoin?
The Prime Minister of Malaysia has called for the formation of a new currency backed by gold. Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that a single sound currency in East Asian would help protect economies from manipulation caused by Forex traders.
Mohamad also spoke about the influence of the US and how it was disadvantageous for the global market to be tied to the currency of a nation state. Such attitudes are spreading around the world and this presents an interesting opportunity for Bitcoin.
Nations Seek Alternatives to the Dollar as a Currency of Settlement, Could Bitcoin Benefit?
According to a report in domestic news publication Free Malaysia Today, the nation’s Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is in favour of a single currency for the East Asian region. This new currency would be backed by gold and importantly would not be the national currency of any existing country.
He gave his address in Tokyo as part of the of a session at the 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia earlier today. He stated that the currency would be used for settlements between nations:
“We can make settlements using that currency. That currency must relate to the local currency as to the exchange rate, and that is something that can be related to the performance of that country. That way we know how much we owe and how much we have to pay in the special currency of East Asia.”
He went on to state that there is an issue with traders buying and selling foreign currency, which has a detrimental impact on the economies using those currencies:
“Currency trading is not something that is healthy because it is not about the performance of countries but about manipulation.”
He also attacked the US’s dominant position in the world, stating that it was not right for a single nation to be telling others how to do their business. This, according to Mahathir, is only going to create further division:
“You [the US] are not democratic. That is not for any single power to decide. If you want to live in a united world, a stable world, we must resort to sustainability through agreement between all nations that have a stake in that problem.”
The Prime Minister was then asked if the Japanese yen or Chinese yuan might serve the same purpose as the gold-backed digital currency he describes. He responded by stating that the promotion of one national currency over others would result in conflict and, for settlement trade, it was important that new currency was not one of an existing country.
Naturally, the seemingly perpetual gold bug Peter Schiff used the announcement of the Malaysian Prime Minister to shill the virtues of his favourite shiny metal at the expense of Bitcoin:
Attention crypto shoppers: Gold is the future of money, not Bitcoin!https://t.co/jENKDzsXll
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 30, 2019
Unfortunately, it does not appear that anyone was in Mahathir’s audience to ask him of the suitability of Bitcoin for the role of settlement currency. The qualities that make for a sound currency and one that is difficult to manipulate are all represented by Bitcoin – granted, there is price manipulation at present, but only due to the fact that the size of the market is so small relative to every other currency on the planet.
Once the Bitcoin market capitalisation increases to the point that billions of dollars entering or leaving the market no longer moves the price, Bitcoin could well serve as a much more suitable settlement currency for not just East Asian trade but the entire planet than any gold-backed currency ever could.
As we have covered many times previously here at NewsBTC, the only thing that gold really has over Bitcoin is a historical precedent. In just about every other way, Bitcoin performs better. It’s more divisible, easier to store, easier to transact, and is genuinely scarce. There is no telling how much gold there truly is in the universe so to say it is scarce isn’t telling the entire story. By contrast, Bitcoin has 21 million units total. There will never be more. This alone makes it a better store of value than gold and will likely be the reason why nations eventually adopt it as a settlement currency, as argued by Saifedean Ammous in his book, The Bitcoin Standard. Given enough time, it seems likely that nations will come round to this way of thinking, forced by their own peoples’ desire to use a genuinely sound unit of currency in favour of the manipulated bits of paper that currently pass for money.
Related Reading: Flipping Gold is “Inevitable” In Digital Age, Would Take Bitcoin Price to 0,000
Featured Image from Shutterstock.
The post Malaysian Prime Minister Proposes Gold-Backed Currency, But Why Not Bitcoin? appeared first on NewsBTC.
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