Singapore grants first-ever license for a cryptocurrency exchange
Singapore’s financial market regulator has granted preliminary approval for the city-state’s first fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange, allowing it to operate as a regulated provider for digital payment token services.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve, a Sydney-based company founded in 2013, an “in principle” approval.
Other crypto exchanges like Binance had already been given temporary exemptions to provide services, but Independent Reserve is the first to receive the formal approval, with over a hundred other applications remaining lined up at MAS.
Singapore, which is open to the new digital economy ecosystem constituted by cryptocurrencies, is also betting on an exodus of crypto players from China where the government has started a crackdown on digital currencies, according to the Financial Times.
Singapore wants to establish a crypto hub, outpacing Hong Kong
The city state has made it easy for foreign crypto groups to establish offices and serve residents and businesses, albeit with restrictions including limits on transaction volumes. It introduced a payments law in January 2020 under which companies could apply for a license. About 90 digital asset companies already applied and are currently operating under an exemption.
Singapore is expected to get even more attractive for crypto players in the region as Hong Kong, a competing Asian financial center, has been perceived as losing its attractiveness because of China’s wide-ranging national security law. As in Mainland China, Hong Kong has taken a stricter stance on the cryptocurrency industry and is likely to limit crypto trading to accredited or institutional investors under a new law.
In the long run, Singapore’s financial market regulator wants to establish the city-state as a global hub for the blockchain ecosystem, analysts conclude.
Singapore has an open approach to the crypto ecosystem Singapore’s financial market regulator has granted preliminary approval for the city-state’s first fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange, allowing it to operate as a regulated provider for digital payment token services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve, a Sydney-based company founded in 2013, an “in principle” approval. Other crypto exchanges like Binance had already been given temporary exemptions to provide services, but Independent Reserve is the first to receive the formal approval, with over a hundred other applications remaining lined up at MAS. Singapore, which is...
Singapore’s financial market regulator has granted preliminary approval for the city-state’s first fully licensed cryptocurrency exchange, allowing it to operate as a regulated provider for digital payment token services.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve, a Sydney-based company founded in 2013, an “in principle” approval.
Other crypto exchanges like Binance had already been given temporary exemptions to provide services, but Independent Reserve is the first to receive the formal approval, with over a hundred other applications remaining lined up at MAS.
Singapore, which is open to the new digital economy ecosystem constituted by cryptocurrencies, is also betting on an exodus of crypto players from China where the government has started a crackdown on digital currencies, according to the Financial Times.
Singapore wants to establish a crypto hub, outpacing Hong Kong
The city state has made it easy for foreign crypto groups to establish offices and serve residents and businesses, albeit with restrictions including limits on transaction volumes. It introduced a payments law in January 2020 under which companies could apply for a license. About 90 digital asset companies already applied and are currently operating under an exemption.
Singapore is expected to get even more attractive for crypto players in the region as Hong Kong, a competing Asian financial center, has been perceived as losing its attractiveness because of China’s wide-ranging national security law. As in Mainland China, Hong Kong has taken a stricter stance on the cryptocurrency industry and is likely to limit crypto trading to accredited or institutional investors under a new law.
In the long run, Singapore’s financial market regulator wants to establish the city-state as a global hub for the blockchain ecosystem, analysts conclude.
