The central bank of the Maldives, the Maldives Monetary Authority,
The central bank of the Maldives, the Maldives Monetary Authority, has warned people against cryptocurrency trading. The warning especially asks people to be careful about social media advertisements that promote and encourage this activity.
On 11th Oct, MMA on their website declared that the only institution that has the jurisdiction and mandate to approve any financial transactions like money exchange and money remittance, by any firm had to come from them and them only. However, they have not allowed any firm to conduct crypto-based businesses. The bank said,
“The MMA brings to the attention of the public that no party has been granted permission to conduct any financial transactions using cryptocurrencies or other virtual currencies in the Maldives. Furthermore, the issuance of any legal tender by any other party is against the law.”
Many countries, in the last couple of months, have taken a strong stance against crypto trade, and though apparently, the reasons all varied from one another, but the main essence was that a legal framework, with proper accountability, was necessary before crypto trading could be introduced. Zambia’s central bank, the Bank of Zambia for example, just last week stated that crypto was not a legal tender and issued a warning to the public, asking them not to be a part of this activity. This statement came after many citizens in the country had raised concerns and questioned the legality of various cryptocurrencies.
There has been a steep rise in the criminal activities related to the industry which has resulted in many users losing their money to frauds and scams. This along with various uncertainties associated with the market, questions about security and commodity regulators have led the central banks and other such financial institutions of many countries to advise the citizens to advise caution before venturing into the world of cryptocurrency and to make informed decisions about it.