Lim Guan Eng is the Finance Minister in Malaysia and he has recently announced that a new set of comprehensive regulations will be guiding the activities of crypto exchanges and ICOs which will come into effect during the first quarter of 2019.

Eng spoke at the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur earlier in the week at this years FinTech Conference which is organised by Malaysia’s Securities Commission to. During the conference, Eng made the announcement that the new regulations are part of efforts by the Malaysian Securities Commission in order prepare for the increase of alternative fundraising and investment in a new asset class.

Eng made the announcement whilst he delivered his keynote address during the events and he said that the system would serve as a comprehensive regulatory framework for all the participants in the crypto space. It’s worth noting that the system was jointly developed by Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia and the SC. The finance minister added that during an atmosphere of suspicion, consumer protection took the main priority as the overriding factor in making the decision.

“While some parties might still be skeptical of this space, there can be no doubt that we need appropriate regulations to be put in place and enforced to safeguard the interest of investors. […] Both Bank Negara and the SC, in terms of formulating this framework will be under the auspices of the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry will lead the committee comprising of Bank Negara, the SC, and the MOF itself.”

As he says, the regulatory framework forms a big part of the Malaysian government’s efforts to increase the growth of alternative kinds of financing for “high potential and innovative MSMEs”, which is a strategic focus of the government as it looks to encourage growth in the private sector.

Eng also added that:

“Through this, we hope to be able to achieve faster fund disbursements to support a broader range of deserving MSMEs, as well as provide greater transparency to how public funding are being utilised.”

As reported by CCN, with this move, a significant boost to cryptocurrency adoption in the country could potentially be on the way. Earlier in the month, Eng addressed the parliament in Malaysia to state that while the government isn’t opposed to crypto it wants its regulatory guidelines to adhere to.

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