There are currently three fully licensed market operators or digital asset exchanges operating under the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC): Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd, SINEGY Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, and Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn Bhd.

We spoke to representatives of all three platforms for this article.

Decryptifying cryptocurrencies – what are they, and why are they valuable?

A cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset or virtual currency. One way to imagine cryptocurrencies, Tang said, is to think of them as improved versions of commonly used assets such as cash and gold. The difference, however, is that cryptocurrencies don’t have a standardized physical representation – instead, they exist only in digital form, not visible to the human eye.

Like gold, the value of cryptocurrencies comes from the fact that it cannot be created arbitrarily, and requires work to be “extracted.”  Similar to how gold must be mined out of the ground, Bitcoin, a type of cryptocurrency for example, must be “mined” via computational means.

Another way to think of cryptocurrency is to think of it as an improved payment system, similar to bank transfers or credit cards. Unlike fiat payment processors, cryptocurrency payment services are said to be cheaper and more transparent.

On top of that, the scarcity of Bitcoin makes it valuable. The Bitcoin Protocol stipulates that there is a limited and finite supply of Bitcoin in this world – in this case, only 21 million Bitcoins will ever be produced, making it a scarce resource. Another type of cryptocurrency, Litecoin, has a maximum limit of 84 million. But different to gold and money which require a safe box or wallet to carry it, cryptocurrencies are highly portable.

Tokenize Exchange was founded in 2017 in Singapore (Image source: Yahoo Singapore)

Hong Qi Yu, Founder & CEO of Tokenize Xchange compares the birth of cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular, similar to that of gold back in the olden days.

“Before the Ringgit, everyone was trading with gold because it was rare. In the early days, miners weren’t aware that Bitcoin’s value could climb so high. They only realized there was potential and a demand for it after pairing one Bitcoin to one US dollar or other currencies, and realizing that it could be transferred to others and didn’t have to go through remittance,” Hong told CompareHero.my.

“That’s how it got a value subscription which turned into trading. When there’s value, this allows the industry to mature and it changes the game. What started as a hobby, has now grown that there are even corporations who specialize in mining and invest in a lot of high tech machines to produce these Bitcoins. Now they have institutionalized the players,” he added.

How do cryptocurrencies work, and what makes them unique?

Powered by a decentralized network, cryptocurrency’s payment network has been credited for “democratizing” payments, because they are not regulated by a single authority like governmental entities like central banks or companies like Visa or Mastercard, for example.

Because cryptocurrencies are not issued by a central authority, they are sort of immune to government interference, are open sourced, and have been said to be more transparent compared to their traditional counterparts. Instead, the open-source software allows members of the network to vote whether a transaction is valid or otherwise through computing power.

Think of it like the Internet – not controlled by a single person or entity, and anyone can use it as they like. This type of payment network allows digital tokens to be transferred between individuals freely, and is made possible thanks to a technology called blockchain, which Investopedia defines as a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers.

One unknown fact is that every user of Bitcoin’s blockchain has a copy of an entire transaction history. (Image source: Forbes) 

This technology is also what allows a large number of people from all over the world to share data quickly and safely, Tang said, giving cryptocurrencies their defining feature. It also lets people and institutions shift funds instantly and without the need for a middleman.

Some of the benefits of a decentralized system is the opportunity to allow for societal fairness, information accessibility and security, and allow for business innovation, according to the study Mobile and Network applications.

The use of cryptocurrency also overcomes the common issue of overprinting of traditional currency or fiat currency by governments and central banks, which may potentially cause inflation.

Bad news for us because inflation essentially reduces our purchasing power, and in the long-term, consumers may need to spend more for an item that we’ve only spent a few ringgits before.

Origins of cryptocurrencies – when did it all start?

But how did cryptocurrencies suddenly blow onto the scenes in 2009? The origins of cryptocurrency are as mysterious as the instrument itself!

At this point, the name credited with the discovery of Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, is Satoshi Nakamoto, though it’s not really clear if he’s a real person or just a pseudonym for the creator or creators of Bitcoin.

Japanese-American Dorian Nakomoto, who graduated in physics from California Polytechnic and worked on classified defense projects, has been rumoured to be Satoshi Nakomoto. He strongly denies it, however. (Image source: KLCC.org)

What is clear to the public is that Nakamoto published a whitepaper in 2008 that kickstarted the development of cryptocurrency.

The paper described the use of a peer-to-peer network as a solution to the problem of double-spending, the initial challenge with digital currencies, which has since been solved via blockchain.

Digital currencies sound revolutionary, are they secure though?

But how could an anonymous and automated decentralized system ensure all transactions are processed with enough due diligence and authenticity?

The cryptography technology – or the study of secure communication where only the sender and recipient is able to view the content of the messaging – applied in cryptocurrencies guarantee pseudo or full anonymity.

Cryptography also makes cryptocurrencies nearly impossible to counterfeit.

Through its highly complex mathematical algorithm codes, cryptography ensures the security of the transactions and the participants, independence of operations from a central authority, and protection from double spending.

Thanks to the decentralized system, investors can check and see all cryptocurrency transactions on the network and review the blockchain data by themselves to verify the authenticity of each transaction.

Though cryptocurrencies were created to address weaknesses in traditional currencies like corruption and manipulation of currencies, a traditional system may possess more stability because it is wholly controlled by a singular entity that calls the shots.

Is cryptocurrency legal in malaysia?

Yes! The Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) has given full approval to three cryptocurrencies platforms to operate legally in the country. Luno was given the green light last October, while SINEGY and Tokenize Xchange both got the full green light in April this year.

A survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that crypto asset awareness in Malaysia is quite high.

A majority of survey respondents (80%) said they were aware of cryptocurrencies, with the core survey based on an online sample of 3,006 respondents aged 18 and over, living in Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam (over 1,000 per country). The high level of awareness of cryptocurrencies in Malaysia (84%) was ten percentage points higher than in the Philippines.

Are more Malaysians ready to embrace cryptocurrencies? (Image source: OECD)

Leaders of all three digital asset exchanges acknowledge the lack of awareness on cryptocurrencies in Malaysia, and say that much needs to be done to educate Malaysians on the value propositions and benefits.

“First and foremost, as digital asset exchanges have only been recently regulated, much time is required for efforts to be conducted on a nationwide level to promote the growth and development of digital assets,” said Chuah of SINEGY. “We are also grateful for the cooperation provided by our regulators, the SC Malaysia, for not only providing investor protection but also working to provide a neutral learning initiative for the public to understand digital assets.”

On a similar note, Tang of Luno said, “it is absolutely necessary to educate the masses about cryptocurrencies. We are strong believers in responsible investing, and spend a ton of resources on educating people about cryptocurrencies.”

To address the lack of awareness, Luno, Tang said, is currently working on several exciting education programmes with a range of partners to roll out both online and offline education programmes, tailored specifically for Malaysians. “It is still really early in the game, but we have seen tremendous progress over the past few years, and are really excited about the future,” he added.

Types of cryptocurrencies

Though there isn’t an exact number, it has been reported that there are around 1600 types of cryptocurrencies in the world since the establishment of Bitcoin in 2009. The diversity, Tang said, is because different cryptocurrencies are designed to serve a specific purpose.

But we’ll focus on the top four cryptocurrencies in the market for this piece.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

The first and most established cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap. It was designed to be an electronic cash system to allow private, safe, and fast transactions from all over the world, Tang said.

Over time, Bitcoin has become more popular as an investment, or like a digital version of gold. “Many people today purchase Bitcoin with the intention of protecting the value of their money, and growing it over time,” he said.

In the United States, at least one-third of U.S. small and medium-sized (SME) businesses accept cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services, according to a survey released by HSB, which is part of Munich Re, a reinsurance company based in Germany.

The survey also revealed that newer companies are up to twice as likely to trade in digital credits. Some major companies, like Microsoft, AT&T, Burger King, KFC, and Subway, among others, accept Bitcoin as payment.

Similarly in Malaysia, some stores are open to accepting cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. Here’s a short list:

• Ipmart, an online store selling gadgets, tech items and home appliances.
• A Shell petrol station at Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur is the first petrol station to accept Bitcoin in Malaysia.
• L&W, a car rental company based in Brunei, with an outlet in Miri, Sarawak, also accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and surprise surprise, Bitcoin for payment.
• Boleh VPN, a VPN service provider, was the first company in Malaysia to accept Bitcoin, in March 2013.
• Greekzen sells premium tech products like power drone quadricopters.

For a more comprehensive list of Malaysian companies accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, click here.

Compared to other cryptocurrencies, it’s relatively easy to convert Bitcoins into cash due to its popularity as a cryptocurrency.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum allow users to make money without having to go through payment providers or banks, but what sets the latter apart is its programmable feature, allowing it to store different types of data, and is what enables it to function as an open source, blockchain-based computing platform and operating system.

The second largest cryptocurrency platform by market cap, Ethereum produces its own associated cryptocurrency, ether, a digital currency that can be used to pay for goods and services as well as used to support the development of applications on the Ethereum network.

“This data can be accessed and used by computer programs running on the Ethereum blockchain,” Tang said. “These programs are called decentralized apps, or dapps. Tech developers around the world can build and run decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain. The purpose of these is to improve the industries of finance, personal information storage, governance and more by using the transparent nature of a blockchain.”

3. Ripple (XRP)

Another hybrid cryptocurrency, Ripple acts as both a cryptocurrency and a digital payment network for financial transactions.

The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ripple is a digital asset that acts as the bridge between different fiat currencies transferred from one country to another a.k.a. remittance, Tang said. “Banks that partner with the Ripple network use XRP to help facilitate these remittances,” he said.

Interestingly, Ripple is more known for its digital payment protocol than its cryptocurrency. Its technology allows it to function as an open-source and peer-to-peer decentralized platform to transfer money in any form, whether USD, Yen, Litecoin, or Bitcoin.

4. Litecoin (LTC)

Founded in 2011, Litecoin was created by an MIT graduate and former Google engineer named Charlie Lee.

Created based on the model of Bitcoin, Litecoin was launched with the goal of overcoming the shortcomings in the former.

Compared to Bitcoin, there are 84 million Litecoins, and its block generation takes only 2.5 minutes compared to Bitcoin’s 10 minutes. In simpler terms, these design improvements allow Litecoin to produce four times as many blocks as Bitcoin. The appeal of Litecoin lies in the speed and ease of its acquisition.

“It is often referred to as the ‘silver’ to Bitcoin’s ‘gold’. This is because Litecoin uses much of the same code as Bitcoin and therefore shares many similarities, but it is currently faster and cheaper,” Tang said. “Like Bitcoin, Litecoin was designed to serve as a global digital payment system.”

The case for cryptocurrency – should you invest in Bitcoin or other digital assets?

Against a backdrop of shrinking GDP, economic slowdown, government bailouts, and fiscal stimulus aka money printing, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Dr Leow Hon Wei, a certified MFPC trainer, said are indeed good inflation-resistant hedges for investors who are currently in search of assets that can offer shelter during the storm and a hedge against macro events.

Leow said investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is an attractive option because it can be used as an alternative investment to diversify one’s portfolio. Additionally, cryptocurrency, he said, is nearly impossible to counterfeit because it is secured by cryptography.

“People believe that investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency can be good stores of value in difficult economic times, especially in a market where people are worried that huge stimulus packages and the global economic crisis could lead to higher inflation,” he said.

Those who are into cryptocurrency investing enjoy not having to go through a central authority system like a bank which may charge high fees.

Investors may also get to avoid large hefty bank fees. Since cryptocurrencies are not subject to third-party or government regulations, currency is able to be sent directly between two parties via the use of private and public keys allowing transactions to be processed with minimal fees, unlike the large fees usually charged by traditional financial institutions.

Want to avoid the crashing stock market? Investors may find Bitcoin as a good alternative because it remains unscathed from the performance of the market. But this isn’t a surprising fact given that Bitcoin was created in response to the stock market crash, the bursting of the real estate bubble, and an overall distrust in traditional money systems. Investing in Bitcoin, according to experts, allows for better risk management and a more diverse portfolio.

Related: #InvestInsights: What Should You Invest in During a Recession? An Expert Weighs In

Inflation may also not be as big of an issue for Bitcoin. The annual inflation rate of Bitcoin is expected to be reduced from 3.64% to 1.8%, after a halving event. At that point, the cryptocurrency’s inflation rate will be lower than the average inflation central banks reference worldwide at 2%. Therefore, Bitcoin may not be subject to the same inflation and devaluation as Fiat currency.

Cryptocurrency may also be an attractive form of investment amidst a crisis because of the liquidity that it offers, said Hong of Tokenize Xchange.

“Why are gold and cryptocurrency very attractive at the moment? There are a lot of aspects (that influence this) but the key point is because they can become good inflation-hedging tools, he said. “I think it goes back to the accessibility and liquidity. For property for example, if you buy it today and want to sell it tomorrow it won’t be so easy. You’ll have to look for a buyer. But for cryptocurrency, our platform is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Our market is never close.”

Bitcoin as a form of an investment could be also better if not as good as any other assets, partly because of its historical market performance, said Chuah of SINEGY. “The primary goal of investments is often to beat inflation and benefit from capital appreciation. From that perspective, Bitcoin and high growth digital assets have exceeded the performance of traditional assets. For Bitcoin in particular, it is deflationary due to its fixed supply and encourages some investors to view it as a great store of value over time, despite its short term volatility,” he said.

Bitcoin and some digital assets could also be less riskier compared to the other securities because of their status as emerging assets, said Chuah.

“Evidently during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, every market was affected by the economic shock. For the case of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies still considered as emerging assets (when compared to the market cap of mainstream securities) – investors can consider the fact that there is a limited downside risk compared to the upside potential of digital assets, given that adoption is barely 10% of the global population for now. Savvy investors do definitely treat digital assets when diversifying their portfolio,”  Chuah said.

Though he had a more reserved view, Tang of Luno somewhat echoed the views of other experts, sharing that many investors consider Bitcoin as a form of “digital gold,” as it protects the value of their money in case of inflation. “There is currently huge concern around the world that the U.S. dollar is being inflated too much and at a rapid rate, hence investors are moving their money into “safe haven” assets,” he said.

Diversifying one’s portfolio by mixing their risk, is another appeal for investors as historically, Tang said, Bitcoin has shown low correlation to other common asset classes (e.g. the stock market, bonds and property).

Finally, Tang said, Bitcoin has the potential for large capital gains. “For example, since the huge crash in global markets in mid-March 2020, the KL Stock Market index has gained 0.29%. The S&P 500 (commonly used as a benchmark of the U.S. Stock Market) has gained 3.66%. Meanwhile Bitcoin has risen 52.95%,” he said.

“But this is not investment advice,” Tang emphasized. “Every investor should do their own research, and evaluate their own risk appetite before investing in anything. Also, past performance never guarantees future returns. Regardless of whether someone decides to invest in cryptocurrency or not, I hope people take charge of their finances and make informed decisions.”

What are the drawbacks of cryptocurrencies?

Despite the potential and excitement of cryptocurrencies, regulators and governments are still trying to pin down the appropriate legal structures and frameworks as well as business norms governing cryptocurrencies.

And unfortunately, cybercriminals exploit this lack of regulation. In 2014, hackers stole about US$350 million (RM1.4 billion) in Bitcoins from Tokyo’s Mt. Gox exchange. Since 2011, more than 980,000 Bitcoins have been stolen from exchanges.

Other concerns are the security of cryptocurrencies – in a Bitcoin vulnerability study funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, they found that about 33% of Bitcoin trading platforms were hacked.

Unfortunately, not being governed by a single central authority, devoids cryptocurrency from having a guaranteed safety net, unlike Fiat currency which is guaranteed by government trusts.

Related: 10 Simple Ways To Avoid Getting Scammed (And What To Do If You’re A Victim)

Avoiding unregulated trading platforms is one way to avoid scams when investing, even in crypto investing.

The skepticism over the legitimacy and sustainability of cryptocurrencies could also largely be attributed to its relative infancy, and maybe, due to the rising number of crypto-related scams, with some even misusing the media and people to aid these scams.

Crypto investing is not for the faint of heart as it could be too volatile for some people. Considered a high-risk investment, the price of Bitcoin went from RM83,450 to around RM8,345 during the Bitcoin crash in 2017. This price volatility scares people away.

Scalability is another issue. Because Bitcoin may only process a limited amount of data at a time, only a handful of payments can be processed at once.

A real life situation to explain this: Bitcoin can only handle about three to four transactions per second, but if it were to handle a more mainstream and bigger audience, it would need the capacity to process hundreds of thousands of transactions per second to ensure the economy could continue progressing without massive delays for consumers and businesses.

How can I get hold of cryptocurrency in Malaysia?

There are several ways to get cryptocurrency in the country. You can either mine it by yourself or buy it using fiat currency or trade it on an exchange. Interestingly, we found that you could even earn it by playing video games or by publishing blog posts on platforms that pay users in cryptocurrency.

1. Mining

As a miner, you would support, legitimize and monitor the Bitcoin network and its blockchain by verifying previous Bitcoin transactions.

Similar to how a central bank would monitor fiat currency, you and many others, would monitor cryptocurrency. By mining, you can get crypto without having to put money down for it. For more information on miming, here’s a good reference.

2. Buying or exchanging crypto on licensed exchanges

If you are into crypto, the most recommended way to get hold of cryptocurrency is to buy it via exchanges that are licensed and regulated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC). There, you can exchange your Ringgit for cryptocurrency.

As of August 21, 2020, only Luno, SINEGY and Tokenize have fully complied with the SC’s requirements, and are licensed by the SC.

3. Luno

This platform is the first digital asset exchange to be given full approval to operate in Malaysia by the SC. They currently support four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin , Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin, and all four are approved for trading in Malaysia by the SC, according to Tang.

If you’re interested, you may start by downloading their app, and invest in cryptocurrencies from as low as RM 3. “Our platform makes it safe and easy to buy, sell, store and learn about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin,” he said. For more info visit, their website.

4. SINEGY

Established three years ago, the company aims to bring digital assets closer to Malaysia. From just buying and selling digital assets, the platform has now ev+olved into a trading platform which allows local investors to participate in price discovery of digital assets that are listed. Their platform supports the trading of Bitcoin, Etherum, Ripple in Ringgit.

“We began by providing Malaysians with a simple way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies,” Chuah said. “Throughout that period, our digital platforms have evolved in line with our domestic regulations.” For more info visit their website.

5. Tokenize Xchange

Founded by Malaysian entrepreneur, Hong Qi Yu, it first began its operations in Singapore back in October 2017 with over 100,000 clients to date. As an approved digital asset exchange, Tokenize Malaysia has a paid up capital of RM5 million.

They received their full approval by the SC just recently this year. “We are now able to go ‘live’ in Malaysia and it is perfect timing – as we have received many interested enquiries from individuals aged 24 to 50 years old who are keen to invest in digital assets,” Hong said about the approval. For more info, visit their website.

6. Peer-to-peer platforms

For those who would prefer to buy crypto from other individual sellers than go through an exchange, they may do so too.

This method typically comes with a review and scoring system so the users can see the feedback given to buyers or sellers prior to trading. Somewhat similar to how you can review sellers on ecommerce platforms. However, we advise you to be careful when using peer-to-peer platforms as these are not recommended especially with the launch of regulated digital asset exchanges in Malaysia.

“There’s actually significant cryptocurrency trading that’s happening on unregulated platforms. The issue with this is investors are not protected, and have no way to take action in case anything goes wrong. Furthermore, it can be very difficult for a beginner to tell whether these are legitimate investing platforms or scams. Hence, our recommendation is to always invest using an SC-approved platform,” said Tang, who emphasized the absolute need to educate the masses about cryptocurrencies.

7. Bitcoin ATM

This machine allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin with cash. The difference with other platforms is the lack of verification process, and though this makes it faster, it could also be somewhat unsafe.

So far in Malaysia, there are only two ATMs in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi.

Crypto investing isn’t for the faint of heart – thread it carefully

Because it is a high risk investment, investors who would like to invest in crypto should make a checklist before getting into it.

Apart from taking into account the same factors that everyone needs to consider before investing, e.g. risk appetite, time frame for investing, personal goals, having sufficient emergency savings etc., investors should look to use only SC-regulated and approved platforms for investing in cryptocurrency.

If you do tick all the boxes, you should still give it a good thought and do some in-depth research before making your decision.

After all, as Tang pointed out to us, anyone can start investing in crypto with just RM3, which is much lower than a cup of nice coffee today.

But the potential learning that someone could get from that RM3 experience – diving into a brand new world and the future of finance – could be immensely powerful.

*Interested in investing and eager to learn more from CompareHero.my? Stay tuned for our next piece on robo-advisors as part of our #InvestInsights series.

Disclaimer: Neither CompareHero.my nor the content on it is intended as securities brokerage, investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security or fund. The content on CompareHero.my is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be personalised investment advice or a solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities.

Compargo Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and/or its affiliates cannot and do not assess, verify or guarantee the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, the suitability or profitability of any particular investment, or the potential value of any investment or informational source. CompareHero.my may receive compensation from the brands or services mentioned on this website.