Asian Property Review interviews KL See, director of Metro Homes Sdn Bhd who is also the deputy president of the Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents and Consultants (MIPEAC) on his views on bitcoin.
1. APR: Which countries are you aware of that have not allowed bitcoin to be used as payment for property?
KL: While most countries favour bitcoin, others don’t. They see it as an illegal currency. The fact that bitcoin can be anonymously used to conduct transactions between any account holders, anywhere and anytime across the globe, makes it attractive to criminal elements.
Among those countries which are not in favour are:
1) Bolivia: The Central Bank of Bolivia has prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies across the country.
2) China: It bans bitcoin as a means of official payment. The banks have also banned it but individuals are free to use it.
3) Iceland: It is practising strict capital controls which enable it to prevent the outflow of Icelandic currency resulting in transactions in bitcoin being banned as part of the country’s Foreign Exchange Act.
4) Ecuador: The government has banned cryptocurrency in the country. Additionally, the nation has created its own Ecuador’s Sistema de Dinero Electrónico (electronic money system).
5) Vietnam: The authorities believe that this cryptocurrency is not a legitimate payment method.
6) Kyrgyzstan: All Cryptos are illegal form of payment in this country.
7) Taiwan: The authorities believe that bitcoin is not a currency and thus should not be accepted by individuals or banking institutions. They have banned Bitcoin ATM Installations.
8) Russia: The legal adoption of bitcoin is uncertain in Russia. The Ministry of Finance is seeking to pass the law to ban the digital currency in the near future. As bitcoin is not regulated by any central bank of any country, therefore the only way to make it legal is for the country to say yes to bitcoin.
Countries where bitcoin is legal are as follows:
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- European Union
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