The Phnom Penh Post is reporting that the Cambodian government, or at least the central bank there, will not recognize Bitcoin as a currency.
“[The National Bank of Cambodia] will not recognize a currency that is not issued or backed by a government,” director-general Chea Serey said in a statement on Wednesday. “Bitcoin’s issuer is not a central bank of any jurisdiction.”
Serey also asserted that the consequent lack of regulation exposes customers to theft and fraud, “which has proven to be a daily occurrence in the virtual world.”
Cointelegraph would like to see Serey’s proof, not to mention what this “virtual world” is of which he speaks.
Not a Ban
To be sure, this stance is not an outright ban on the use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin. For now, it’s simply a definition.
What effect the bank’s statement has on Bitcoin activity in the country remains to be seen.
