Cryptocurrencies’ are fast mushrooming throughout the world. This is especially the case of bitcoin. It was launched in 2009 and at that time it did not attract many people. But after people have tasted it’s benefits, the price of it jumped from $1k to $10.828. Now Bitcoin is used by merchants as a medium exchange. Upon realizing how popular it would be, some countries have banned cryptocurrencies years ago. Using cryptography and fintech, bitcoin became the first highly secure global currency that is not issued by any central agency. Long said short, it’s effectively non-political money.
The rise in cryptocurrencies has taken the banking and finance industry by surprise and shock. Being decentralized money, cryptocurrencies certainly touched the nerves of money issuing central authorities. People say that it’s both a threat and the survival of the banking industry itself. Hence, some countries like Iran have banned cryptocurrencies. Why? Because it doesn’t fulfill the criteria for Islamic money.
Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran recently announced that they would allow only industrial-scale power plants to operate as Bitcoin miners. National laws are saying that miners should reveal their statuses and give a complete description of the ministry of industry, Mines, and trade. Because of the reason that Miners can be both individuals and companies, they need to give information about what kind of device they are using. Illegal crypto miners will be fined from $2k-$5k for each piece of hardware they will use. Additionally, they will pay $20k if they will be coughing using a subsidized electricity source.
The Iranian government has allowed cryptocurrency mining as industrial activity in July 2019. Iran is considering taking cryptocurrencies seriously because of the potential of the economic opportunities for the country, but they still don’t allow them. Why not? Because of the system level of the Iranian policymakers are having a very tough time understanding how blockchain technology operates. Because of that, they are not ready to take advantage of its benefits and decrease their risks. This is very sad because it would help the country’s vulnerable economic system led by the parliament.
Funny how in the center of this country, in Tehran – There are already many people who are interested in the subculture of blockchain technology. They just meet up in restaurants, cafes, and bars and are discussing the future of cryptocurrencies in Iran. They also share the investment tips and warnings about scams.
Malaysia
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia’s securities commission approved a cryptocurrency exchange in their country. That happened because of the interest in cryptocurrencies in Malaysia. The country has lost $553 million during coronavirus because of the business hut. Despite the crisis in the country, trading in Malaysia has grown and bloomed. The local trading volumes on its platform grew 33% over the past weeks. The number of active users in Malaysia is surprising and gives hope to the country’s economy. This is happening because of Bitcoin. It is a good store of value at different times. Some investors and businesses started to use bitcoins in order to make sure that their portfolios are secure and they don’t have to worry about the huge stimulus in the global crisis.
Bitcoin also has revolutionized the online payment system in Malaysia. Today, cryptocurrency is the game-changer for many industries, some of the best Malaysia online casino sites have also adopted Bitcoins. They allow gamblers and casinos to have a fast and secure payment method that will not be sanctioned by governments and banking institutions.
Online casinos are technically illegal in Malaysia, that is why online platforms are including cryptocurrencies in order to have some potential in the future. These laws were written decades ago and of course, they are not modernized, so one can not know how the illegal is patronized.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that using cryptos in online casinos is fully risk-free in Malaysia. There is an increasing number of calls to ban online gambling and stay away from them. One must decide by themselves if it’s worth interacting with it. Most Malaysians don’t care about it and they are getting funded, making deposits, and doing bets as long as they attach influential names in gambling.
Saudi Arabia
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a western Islamic country with a population of 33 million people. Bitcoin is legal there. One can exchange it and buy it in Saudi Arabia. Financial authorities still don’t think that it is a good idea to trade with it, because there are no protections for crypto-related losses. There are warnings on Bitcoin and some people still demonize them because they have no full understanding of it. Saudi Arabia is famous for its ATMs for bitcoin. The government there has already allowed cryptocurrencies in investments and startups. Cryptocurrencies are the way in the future and it will be highly profitable for the economy. For future technological development, which is very connected to Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure, currencies are the game-changer.
Despite some concerns about this field, Blockchain technology is continually growing as the government supports it. They are adopting technologies in order to make it easier to use currencies widely.
Last month the central bank of Saudi Arabia announced the planning to expand its digital payment methods between cross-border bank transactions. The technology is considered to be changed in every sector, it will allow the blockchain adoption to break through and give significant advantages to Islamic Finances.
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