KUALA LUMPUR (June 4): The Securities Commission Malaysia has registered three Recognised Market Operators to establish and operate digital asset exchanges in the country.

The regulator, in a statement today, said the three are Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd, SINEGY Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn Bhd, and that they have been given up to nine months to fully comply with all regulatory requirements.

The announcement comes after implementation of the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 on Jan 15 this year, it added. On Jan 31, it also issued the revised Guidelines on Recognized Markets 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.

"Operating a DAX without authorisation 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," it added.

It further advised that the public be mindful of the risks related to trading in digital assets, including risks of trading on exchanges that are not registered with the SC. 

"Members of the public may verify if a digital asset operator is registered with the SC [or not] at https://www.sc.com.my/development/digital/digitalassets," it added.