100 Companies in Singapore Denied A Crypto License
As reported in Nikkei Asia on Monday, 100 companies that applied for a crypto license in Singapore have either been turned down or withdrawn their applications. About 170 companies have applied for a license to offer crypto-related services since Singapore began regulating the digital assets sector thru the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
A MAS spokesperson told Nikkei Asia that “cryptocurrencies could be abused for money laundering, terrorism financing, or proliferation financing due to the speed and cross-border nature of the transactions.” The news outlet further reported:
“Digital payment token service providers in Singapore have to comply with requirements to mitigate such risks, including the need to carry out proper customer due diligence, conduct regular account reviews, and monitor and report suspicious transactions.”
Companies that were already operating in Singapore before licensing regulations came into effect were exempted until their license applications have been processed. in July, senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam informed parliament that 90 companies were operating under such exemptions.
As of today, three companies have received a license and are listed as such on the MAS website: DBS Vickers Securities, a unit of DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s largest bank; digital payments startup FOMO Pay; and Australia’s Independent Reserve
With reportedly half of Singaporeans owning crypto and the MAS announcing in November that Singapore intends to become an international crypto hub, large global exchanges such as Binance and Huobi have nevertheless recently left Singapore.
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Source: igaming
