The revised DAX guidelines took the headlines today — but the SC's accompanying disclosures sketch the fuller picture of a market growing up fast, inside a hardening perimeter.
The market, by the numbers
Total trading value on regulated DAXs rose to RM17.14 billion in 2025, a 23% increase from RM13.93 billion in 2024. SC Chairman Datuk Mohammad Faiz Azmi framed the growth as demanding "resilient and credible partners" in the ecosystem — context for the tougher capital, governance and client-asset rules taking effect (existing operators have until 20 May 2028 to meet the new capital requirements).
The enforcement ledger
- Administrative action against four DAXs operating without registration (the SC did not name them).
- From 14 April 2026, a collaboration with Google means unregistered operators cannot advertise financial services to Malaysians — Google Ads now requires proof of SC or BNM licensing for financial ads in Malaysia.
The investor-protection first
DAX operators will join the Financial Markets Ombudsman Service (FMOS) in 2026 — giving crypto exchange customers, for the first time, a free, formal dispute-resolution channel for direct financial loss claims, the same recourse long available against brokers and fund managers.
Taken together: record volumes, higher operator standards, advertising choke points against the unregistered, and an ombudsman for when things go wrong. This is what a maturing regime looks like.
References
- Securities Commission Malaysia — "SC Issues Revised Guidelines on Recognized Markets for Digital Asset Exchange" (20 May 2026)
- The Edge Malaysia — "Securities Commission tightens digital asset rules, targets unregistered exchanges" (20 May 2026)
- Business Today — "SC tightens digital asset exchange rules, speeds up product approvals" (20 May 2026)
- SoyaCincau — Google Ads verification requirement (11 Mar 2026)