Is cryptocurrency legal in Singapore and Malaysia?

As of January 2022, it is currently legal to both own and trade cryptocurrencies in Singapore and Malaysia. In fact, Singapore has been at the forefront of embracing and implementing blockchain and DLT alongside countries like Switzerland and Estonia. There have been many research institutions such as the National University of Singapore which focuses on supporting companies to build their blockchain technology.

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Crypto is currently regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC) in both countries. However, both countries do not recognise cryptocurrencies as legal tender or a payment instrument.


There is only one country in the world which recognises crypto as a legal tender. El Salvador supports Bitcoin (BTC) and there have been many predictions made that Paraguay, Venezuela and Anguilla will follow suit.


Below are the list of countries that have banned or partially ban cryptocurrencies.

Countries which have restricted the use of cryptocurrency

As of November 2021, there are currently 42 countries with implicit bans on certain cryptocurrency uses. Some of the countries it lists are:

• Bahrain
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Gabon
• Georgia
• Guyana
• Kuwait
• Lesotho
• Libya
• Macao
• Maldives
• Vietnam
• Zimbabwe

Countries which have banned cryptocurrency

There are currently nine countries with absolute bans on cryptocurrency. They are:

• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• China
• Egypt
• Iraq
• Morocco
• Nepal
• Qatar
• Tunisia

Despite the bans, we are still at the beginning of a powerful and transformative age. Blockchain technology powers a new set of innovation and I am really excited to be part of witnessing this transformation!

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