Singapore announces hard crypto regulations

Singapore has announced a tough stance on regulating BTC services. The island nation’s top fintech officer pledged to take “brutal and unrelentingly tough action” on wrongdoing in the industry. Sopnendu Mohanty’s statement comes in the light of the Terra crash and the current doldrums in the crypto market.

The official of Singapore’s central bank and regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore commented on this to the Financial Times. He questioned the value proposition of cryptocurrencies:

Many cryptocurrencies have accused us of not being friendly. My answer was: friendly, for what? Friendly to a real economy or friendly to an unreal economy?

According to Mohanty, there is no tolerance for economic misconduct. The country – which was once considered a crypto hotspot – has been following a restrictive course for some time. BTC and Co. were supposed to disappear from public space as early as January. In addition to restrictive rules for advertising crypto services, this directive meant the end of crypto ATMs.

Companies like the venture capital firm Three Arrows Capital have consequently already left the country. It has been clear since the end of April that Three Arrows is now pitching his tents in Dubai. The Terra crash recently hit the company hard.

Singapore grants crypto approval

Despite these restrictive measures, the Monetary Authority of Singapore continue to receive permits to operate crypto services in Singapore. On June 22, the BTC exchange received Crypto.com such license. In light of the regulatory climate, company co-founder Kris Marszalek saw the move as a vote of confidence in his platform. The crypto service providers also received a permit genesis and Sparrow.

Singapore has thus issued a total of 14 crypto licenses. According to the Straits Times 196 pending applications. The world’s largest BTC exchange binance is not among them. It withdrew its application last December and ceased operations in Singapore in February.

The island state relies on CBDCs

Meanwhile, away from volatile cryptocurrencies, Singapore’s financial watchdogs have recognized the potential behind blockchain technology. Sopnendu Mohanty promised the Financial Times Therefore, to work under high pressure on the introduction of a digital central bank currency. He hopes to start in the next three years.

Singapore’s deputy prime minister also recently backed the blockchain. When he announced the crypto approval of Crypto.com announced, he also emphasized the usefulness of the technology for international settlements:

Today, cross-border payment processing usually runs via a few intermediaries and is usually tied to fixed operating hours of the clearing banks and systems. So there’s a lot we can do using blockchain technology to improve the efficiency, accessibility and affordability of cross-border transactions.

So Singapore wants to continue to rely on digitized payment systems, just under state supervision.