Malaysia grants Three digital exchange licenses

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced this month that it has granted preliminary licenses to three Recognized Market Operators (RMOs) to establish and operate digital asset exchanges (DAX) in Malaysia.

The three registered DAX operators are: Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd, SINEGY Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn Bhd. The SC has given the new recognized market operators up to nine months to become fully compliant with all regulatory requirements.

The announcement follows the coming into force of the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 on 15 January 2019, and the subsequent issuance of the revised Guidelines on Recognized Markets on 31 January 2019 to introduce new requirements for DAX operators.

DAX operators who have not been approved by the SC are required to cease all activities immediately and return all monies and assets collected from investors. As stated in the announcement, operating a DAX without authorization from the SC is an offence under securities laws and a person in breach may be liable to a fine or imprisonment term or both Members of the public may verify if a digital asset operator is registered with the SC at https://www.sc.com.my/development/digital/digitalassets