Therefore, BI called on merchants not to accept Bitcoin as an official payment instrument as the bank would not be responsible for any losses incurred through transactions, Onny said.
Well that's disappointing. I want to clarify something though: are they banning Bitcoin in its entirety or are they banning merchants from accepting Bitcoin? It looks like they're still on the fence about regulations, and they at least want to stop its unregulated use as they seem to fear it could do damage. So users can still trade with each other? I'm guessing exchanges are off the table.
Either way, it looks like it's not yet final so let's keep our fingers crossed. Keep in mind that while a country may have a small volume of Bitcoin transactions, a ban closes the door for future adopters. It's a big loss in the long run.
Banning businesses from accepting bitcoin will affect Bitcoin's growth in the country