Malaysia Capital Markets and Services Digital Currency and Digital

The order defines “digital currency” as a digital representation of value recorded on a distributed digital ledger, whether cryptographically secured or otherwise, that functions as a medium of exchange and is interchangeable with money, including through account crediting or debiting. The 2025 consolidated version defines “digital token” as a digital representation recorded on a distributed digital ledger, but excludes certain government securities, shares, debentures, unit trust interests, and prescribed investments, while including related rights, options, or interests.

A digital currency is prescribed as securities where three conditions are satisfied. It must be traded on a place or facility where offers to sell, purchase, or exchange the digital currency are regularly made or accepted; a person must expect a return from trading, conversion, redemption, or appreciation in value; and it must not be issued or guaranteed by a government body or central bank specified by the SC.

A digital token is prescribed as securities where it represents a right or interest in an arrangement that satisfies the order’s investment-like criteria. Those criteria include receipt of the token for consideration, pooling of contributions and returns, returns generated from property, assets, or business activities, an expected return from token trading, conversion, redemption, or appreciation, no day-to-day control by the token holder, and no issuance or guarantee by a specified government body or central bank.

The order provides that securities laws apply to digital currencies and digital tokens that are prescribed as securities under the order, except for Division 3 of Part VI of the Capital Markets and Services Act. This makes the order a gateway provision for Malaysia’s broader digital-asset framework rather than a complete operating rulebook for exchanges, issuers, or custodians.

P.U.(A) 6/2025 amended the 2019 order by replacing the definition of “digital token” and deleting paragraph 5 of the principal order. SC’s official Capital Markets and Services Act page lists the amendment with a coming-into-force date of Jan. 9, 2025 and identifies the 2019 order as incorporating that amendment.

Malaysia’s operating framework sits around the order. The SC’s digital-assets page states that trading, issuance, and safekeeping of digital assets in Malaysia are regulated by the SC through the 2019 prescription order and related guidelines. SC also maintains guidelines for recognised market operators, including digital asset exchanges, and Guidelines on Digital Assets for digital-token offerings and digital-asset custodians.

As of June 5, 2026, the order should be treated as active, as amended. It remains a core Malaysian legal reference for identifying when digital currencies and digital tokens fall within the capital-market securities framework. Editors should review the separate SC Guidelines on Recognized Markets, Guidelines on Digital Assets, and any future tokenisation framework updates when describing operational requirements for exchanges, issuers, brokers, or custodians.