Cambodia's central bank won't recognise bitcoin

[webfact]

Cambodia's central bank won't recognise bitcoin


Cambodia's central bank won’t recognise bitcoin as a form of payment, making the Kingdom the latest Asian country to reject the digital currency, according to The Phnom Penh Post.

PHNOM PENH: -- National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) director-general Chea Serey confirmed the regulator’s stance on the issue on Wednesday, citing the absence of any e-commerce law in the Kingdom as one of the main reasons.

“NBC will not recognise a currency that is not issued or backed by a government. Bitcoin’s issuer is not a central bank of any jurisdiction,” Serey said.

Serey said that the lack of pertinent regulations means consumers aren’t legally protected in case of fraud.

The NBC is the only organisation in Cambodia with authorisation to issue legal tender under the direction of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The NBC’s statement comes one day after the Bank of Thailand (BOT) issued a stern warning against buying bitcoins. The BOT yesterday said tracking the virtual money could pose difficulties, especially during legal proceedings.

Bitcoin continues to be traded in Thailand, however, despite the BOT stating that the government would not and cannot regulate the digital currency.

Last month, Vietnam’s banking regulator banned commercial banks and vendors from using or allowing bitcoin as a legitimate form of payment or trade. Prior to that, China, Japan and Russia took similar steps to discourage the digital currency’s official use.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/cambodias-central-bank-wont-recognise-bitcoin/


-- Thai PBS 2014-03-21

[ezzra]

Cambodia hardly recognize it's own currency, the Riel, and uses mostly US $

and they want it to recognize the Bitcoin ??? Yeah right...

[slygeeza]

the great thing about bitcoin is that governments cant control it, but in any case it will be accepted once they realize it can be used to make political donations

[rickirs]

"NBC will not recognise (sic) a currency that is not issued or backed by a government." Isn't that the whole idea is a currency that operates outside of the banking system, thus outside of regulation? Bitcoin is basically a monetized barter system that crosses national boundaries without the inherent control by nations. Cambodia and other nations having weak international support might actually be good candidates for bitcoin.

[soalbundy]

That's alright, bitcoin doesn't recognize Cambodia