by SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH / pic by TMR FILE

LUNO Malaysia has introduced Bitcoin Cash, its fifth digital asset approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), on its trading platform effective yesterday.

Bitcoin Cash, which was first launched globally in 2017, is part of Luno’s growing list of digital asset offerings in Malaysia which includes bitcoin, ethereum, ripple and litecoin, the company said in a statement.

Luno Malaysia country manager Aaron Tang said Bitcoin Cash gives local investors another option to diversify their portfolio in cryptocurrency trade.

“Bitcoin Cash is in the top 15 of the most traded cryptocurrency globally. We only list safe, reputable digital assets that have the utility benefits that our customers want. We hope the introduction of Bitcoin Cash on our platform will inspire local users to explore cryptocurrency further and learn about the benefits they offer, be it for trading or investment,” Tang said.

Malaysian traders can now buy, sell and learn about Bitcoin Cash on Luno. Bitcoin Cash was introduced due to a fork, a community-activated update to the protocol or code, of the original bitcoin blockchain, the cryptocurrency company said.

The main motive of the fork was to increase the block size in the blockchain from 1MB to 32MB to facilitate faster transactions. As a result, Bitcoin Cash is regarded by some as a faster and cheaper system alternative to bitcoin.

Similar to bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash has a maximum supply of 21 million with more than 18 million in current circulation.

At present, Bitcoin Cash is one of the most widely traded cryptocurrencies in the world with a market capitalisation of US$18.77 billion (RM77.32 billion).

Luno Malaysia recently announced it has achieved a new milestone with over RM1 billion of digital assets under management (DAUM) since its establishment in Malaysia.

The cryptocurrency company’s DAUM comprises four approved cryptocurrencies, namely, bitcoin, ethereum, ripple and litecoin, in addition to Bitcoin Cash.

The company has gained over 300% quarterly comparison of customer growth in Malaysia last month with an influx of new users at the end of 2020.

It now has over half a million verified users in the country, with total transactions amounting to RM3.97 billion, as of January 2021.

Globally, Luno has reached seven million customers or more than 300% year-on-year growth in the number of applications with over RM34 billion transaction value.

As of Jan 25, 2021, the average Luno user held over US$7,000 (RM28,836) in their wallet, up 56% from Dec 30, 2020.