The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) reported that the average daily transaction value of the local digital asset market has fallen from RM57.29 million in 2021 to RM25.75 million in 2022, equivalent to a 55.05% drop. This was revealed in the SC’s annual report for 2022 that was recently published.

Despite the drop in average daily transaction value, however, the SC noted that there was an increase in the number of new digital asset accounts that were created in 2022. Specifically, the market saw an addition of 128,000 new accounts since the end of 2021, which translated to a growth of 17%.

Additionally, the SC said that it had opened up applications for new market operators of digital asset exchanges (DAX) to register with the commission. This is in a bid to introduce other platforms with different value propositions, in addition to the four existing DAX operators that are already registered with the SC, namely Luno, MX Global, SINEGY, and Tokenize.

“Allowing more players to enter the market increases capital market vibrancy by widening the number of regulated exchange platforms for investors to invest in,” said the SC.

Aside from that, the commission also highlighted in its 2022 annual report that the digital investment management segment has accumulated a total assets under management (AUM) of more than RM1.39 billion as of the end of 2022. This comes following an expansion in the range of capital market offerings provided to investors.

The SC further noted that digital brokers are especially popular among retail investors who use online brokerage accounts, particularly among millennial investors, who make up 72% of their clientele base. “The increased retail interest in the equity market peaked [at 33%] in 2022 during this economic recovery comparatively to 2021, with digital brokers gaining a retail market share of 4%, with the total number of accounts having risen by more than 10% to approximately 276,000 in 2022,” said the SC. In comparison, the total number of online brokerage accounts in 2021 stood at approximately 251,000 accounts.

Other key highlights that were also mentioned in the SC’s annual report for 2022 include the establishment of an internal task force by the SC to address scams and unlicensed activities, as well as the growth of equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer financing (P2P) platforms in meeting the funding needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Furthermore, the annual report also published the results of a stress test exercise by the SC to see whether Malaysia has sufficient liquidity buffers across all investment funds, in case investors decide to withdraw their investments en masse in extreme scenarios.

Aside from releasing its annual report for 2022, the SC also published the Audit Oversight Board Annual Report 2022 and its inaugural Capital Market Stability Review 2022.

(Sources: Securities Commission Malaysia, The Edge Markets)

• TAGS:
• Digital Asset Exchanges (DAX)
• Digital Assets
• Digital Brokers
• Digital Investment Management
• Luno
• Luno Malaysia
• MX Global
• Securities Commission
• Securities Commission Malaysia
• Securities Commission Malaysia Annual Report 2022
• SINEGY
• SINEGY Technologies
• Tokenize
• Tokenize Technology