One of Sabah’s top tourism businessmen, Alexander Yee has agreed to sell 3 acres of land on Libaran Island for 0.5 Bitcoin (RM38,832.5), even though many economists consider the cryptocurrency as a bubble waiting to burst.
On Monday (8 January), the buyer Polycarp Chin transferred the 10 percent deposit of 0.05 Bitcoin (RM3,883.25) from his mobile wallet to Yee’s. The remaining 0.45 Bitcoin will be given once the purchaser becomes the land’s official owner.
“It is a new way of transferring money,” said Yee, a resort operator, turtle conservationist and the owner of Malaysia’s first Upside Down House (Rumah Terbalik).
The transaction was witnessed by a third party, and the agreement will be sent to a lawyer for certification before making an application for the ownership transfer at the Sandakan Land Office.
“I do not see a problem as we have a value of the land in ringgit and necessary stamp duty fees will be paid based on the value stated,” noted the seller.
Yee revealed that he and his friend Chin thought of the transaction while they were talking about turtle conservation on Libaran Island in Sabah’s east coast.
“Chin wanted to play a role in turtle conservation and offered to buy a piece of land to get involved. We then decided to do the transaction using Bitcoin,” he added.
Both parties highlighted that there is no Bitcoin ban in Malaysia, as the central bank has yet to introduce clear guidelines on the cryptocurrency’s usage.
According to Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, there would be no blanket prohibition on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as such move will negatively impact creativity and innovation in the financial sector.
Bitcoin is the 1,375 digital cryptocurrencies currently being used. However, many experts like the Bitcoin craze to the tulip mania, wherein prices of some tulip bulbs rose to extraordinary heights then sharply declined in February 1637.
Image sourced from The Star.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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