Malaysia Considering Making Bitcoin Legal Tender: Report

Malaysian officials are trying to spark legislative action to designate Bitcoin as legal tender, according to multiple reports.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Malaysia’s deputy minister of the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, says the country should adopt Bitcoin and other crypto assets as legal tender.

“We hope the government can allow this,” Zahidi Zainul Abidin said in Parliament on Monday, responding to a question from opposition.

While the ultimate decision to make BTC legal tender lies within the country’s central bank and other federal regulators, Zahidi said the ministry wants to address it now because crypto is the “business and financial program of the future, especially for young people now,” Zahidi said, adding:

“We hope the government can try to legalize this matter so that we can expand the participation of young people in cryptocurrencies and help them in terms of energy consumption and so on.”

Global Crypto Recognition Continues to Increase Image via Shutterstock 

While details on Malaysia’s potential move to adopt Bitcoin remain vague, additional rumours are swirling with regards to Honduras also considering doing the same.

Some reports say that the president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, plans on announcing a plan as early as Tuesday.

“We must not allow El Salvador to be the only country escaping dollar hegemony,” Castro reportedly said. “Honduras has the right to move towards the First World countries.”

In March of last year, Malaysia’s finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz more or less dismissed crypto assets as viable currencies.

“In general, digital assets are not a good store of value and a medium of exchange. This is due to the fact that digital assets are vulnerable to volatile price fluctuations due to speculative investments, the risk of theft due to cyber threats and lack of scalability,” he said.

The next country to adopt BTC as legal tender will become the second in the world to do so after El Salvador, which made the unprecedented move in September of 2021. Currently, the country is working on Bitcoin-backed bonds, which are reportedly delayed because of legislative issues.