Malaysia Looks to Tie Token Offerings to Exchanges

Published on by Cointele | Published on

Following the US SEC's investor alert against Initial Exchange Offerings, Malaysia's regulator has published a regulatory guide requiring token offerings in the country be attached to exchanges.

A breakdown of Malaysia IEOsA report from Malaysia's Securities Commission makes clear that digital tokens are to be used only for goods and services and within strict guidelines, which will take effect late 2020.Issuing digital tokens in the country without SC approval is illegal.

The platforms themselves bear responsibility for vetting issuers and approving token features.

The minimum paid-up capital is 5 million Malaysian ringgit.

Operators looking to trade digital assets must be registered as Digital Asset Exchange platform operators - more commonly known as crypto exchanges.

Issuers must meet a minimum paid-up capital of 500,000 ringgit.

Retail investors and angel investors are each limited to 2,000 ringgit per issuer without exceeding 20,000 ringgit in a 12-month period.

Sophisticated investors - those with a high net worth and extensive market experience - face no restricted investment amount.

US SEC issues investor alertAs Cointelegraph wrote yesterday, the SEC has nabbed a number of non-compliant ICOs - requiring $13 million in one case - and now looks focussed on IEOs.Cointelegraph reached out to a regulatory legal expert for comment but had not heard back at press time.

An IEO-hosting exchange may need various forms of approval, including licensure by the commission.

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