Coinbase is Legally Licensed in Singapore
The Central Bank and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have granted Coinbase a DPT license to operate legally in this lion island nation.
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According to the latest announcement this afternoon (October 11), cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has just received a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in an effort to expand its influence in the Asia region.
The license was received today as an approval in principle, allowing an organization as large as Coinbase to offer digital payment token (DPT) products and services, under city-state regulation. . Coinbase said this is “an important step forward, as we plan to roll out a full suite of retail, institutional, and ecosystem products in the not-too-distant future.”
Coinbase is currently one of more than 10 crypto companies that have received a license in Singapore, alongside Paxos, Crypto.com and DBS Vickers, a brokerage operated by Singapore's largest bank DBS. Licensed companies must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) requirements.
Contrary to the above move, Coinbase rival Binance has decided to withdraw from the Singapore market, cancel its active registration records and declare closure from the end of 2021.
In the past, many experts have complained that the approval process is too difficult and cumbersome, but MAS “promises” to not stop being tough on the crypto industry, as a regulator.
Paxos representative shared with The Block that the license issued by MAS only allows companies to operate in Singapore, then still needs to be approved by the regulatory authorities and pass the rigorous test.
Coinbase views Singapore as the leading financial center in Asia and the third in the world after New York and London, and is keen to serve institutional clients, including banks and wealth managers, amid the global financial crisis. There is a growing demand for direct investment in digital assets.
Coinbase currently has 100 active employees in Singapore. Coinbase's investment arm has invested in over 15 Singapore-based crypto startups over the past 3 years and plans to continue supporting the local ecosystem.
“Singapore plays an important regulatory and commercial role in APAC and beyond that it is our global talent hub; We are excited to continue investing and building for the crypto economy here.”
The Singapore government has been making many moves to tighten crypto investment activities since the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May and the whole market plunge. In addition, Singapore is also home to many major crypto organizations, including Terraform Labs and the Three Arrows Capital fund, but the lion island government has absolved of liability to these two organizations because they are not regulated. enough reason.
FoxCryptoNews summary
Oct 11, 2022
