JAKARTA - Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, announced that it has received approval from the Central Bank of Singapore to offer payment services in those countries.
The principle approval, which the central bank began giving to crypto companies last year, means individuals and institutions can use digital payment token services and companies protected by central banks under the Payment Service Act.
Coinbase calls this an "important notch" because it has built its presence in Singapore and currently has nearly 100 employees in Southeast Asia, most of which are digital product engineers.
"We see Singapore as a global strategic market and center for Web3 innovation," Hassan Ahmed, Regional Director of Coinbase for Southeast Asia.
About 180 crypto companies applied for a crypto payment license to the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2020 under the new regime. Singapore has given 17 principle and licensing approvals after a complicated due diligence process that is still ongoing.
Apart from Coinbase, Crypto.com and DBS control, brokers run by Singapore's largest bank DBS, are also among the companies that have received licenses.
Singapore-friendly approaches have helped financial centers attract companies related to digital asset services from China, India, and other places in recent years. Now even making it a major center in Asia.
However, there are also several cases of cryptocurrency in the city. Singapore-based crypto hedge funds, the Three Arrows Capital, began liquidation in June after failing to fulfill hundreds of millions of dollars' obligations to investors.
Hedge fund has been hit hard by the collapse of the Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies in May. The two coins were developed by Terraform Labs, which was founded in Singapore. The founder of Terraform Lab, Do Kwon, is currently being sought by South Korean police.
The head of MAS, however, sought to keep Singapore away from these companies and said in July that companies like the Three Arrows and Terraform Labs were "based in Singapore" companies "not related" to crypto regulations in the city.
Singapore now plans to launch a new regulation that will tighten retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies.
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