The Malaysian minister says Bitcoin and Ethereum do not exhibit characteristics of money.
Malaysian Deputy Minister Yamani Hafez has among other several points, noted that digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not suitable when looked at from the perspective of being used for payment purposes.
In a wide-ranging response to a question on the topic of cryptocurrencies and their growing use as money, the minister said:
“Digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are not suitable to be used as a payment instrument as these assets do not exhibit characteristics of money.”
Volatility in cryptocurrencies
While people are free to hold and trade digital assets in the largely crypto-friendly country, the authorities have not allowed it for use as legal tender. And the minister appeared to reiterate this stance by referring to why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are lumped into this digital asset basket but cannot be used as digital currencies.
“In general, digital assets are not a store of value and a good medium of exchange. This is due to the state of digital assets which is exposed to volatility as a result of speculative investments,” Hafez explained.
The minister’s response followed a question in parliament regarding the government’s outlook on crypto regulation and plans for a central bank digital currency (CBDC)
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He added that Bitcoin’s approximately 10 transactions per second pales in…
