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More than 100 companies that have applied for a license to offer crypto services in Singapore have been either refused or withdrawn. “Cryptocurrencies could be used for money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing purposes due to the speed and cross-border nature of transactions,” the country’s central bank said. ‘Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Strict crypto regulations in Singapore
Since Singapore began regulating the crypto industry, around 170 companies have applied for a license to offer “digital payment token services,” which include crypto-related services.
However, more than 100 companies that applied for a license have been rejected or withdrawn, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday.
Companies operating in the country before the introduction of the licensing regime have been granted exemptions until their license applications have been processed. Chief Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told parliament in July that 90 companies operate under such exemptions.
A spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and regulator of the crypto industry, told the outlet: “Cryptocurrencies could be used for money laundering purposes, terrorist financing or proliferation financing due to the speed and borderline nature of transactions. The spokesperson clarified:
Singapore digital payment token service providers… must comply with requirements to mitigate these risks, including the need to perform customer due diligence, perform regular account reviews and monitor and report suspicious transactions.
So far, only three companies are listed as approved entities on the MAS website: DBS Vickers Securities, a unit of DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s largest bank; the digital payments start-up FOMO Pay; and the Australian Independent Reserve. The MAS said in November that Singapore is striving to become a global crypto hub.
The head of capital markets at DBS and the chairman of the bank’s crypto exchange said in September, “We are growing very quickly. Investors are gradually exploring cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
In September, the central bank ordered Binance to stop providing crypto services to residents. Last week, Binance announced the closure of its Singapore platform.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) claimed that the reason for closing its Singapore stock exchange was due to an 18% stake in Hg Exchange (HGX), a regulated stock exchange in Singapore. However, Bloomberg reported that the real reason was that Binance could not meet the requirements for a license to operate a crypto exchange.
Keywords in this story Binance, crypto exchanges, Crypto regulation, Cryptocurrency regulation, MAS, bitcoin mas, crypto mas, cryptocurrency mas, Singapore, singapore crypto regulation, Singaporean
What do you think of Singapore’s strict crypto regulations? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kevin helms
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