Singapore is known as a global crypto hub, especially after many firms migrated to the country to escape the anti-crypto Chinese regime. However, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has shown more prudence in giving licenses to crypto firms and exchanges in the past few months. Binance was among the many firms that failed to obtain a license from the authorities. The largest crypto exchange in the world instead decided to buy shares of a local crypto exchange that already had the license. Apart from Binance, many cryptocurrency exchanges failed to obtain the necessary licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. From over 170 applications for digital payment tokens, the Monetary Authority of Singapore rejected 103. Media outlet Vulcan Post investigated the reasons behind these rejections and came up with some insightful information.
According to Vulcan Post, Singapore is approaching cryptocurrency firms with a ‘quality over quantity’ mindset. That means greater difficulty in obtaining the digital payment token license, but the ease of doing business afterward. By doing so, the Monetary Authority of Singapore can focus on devising policies that promote growth and innovation in the crypto space. It would not have to dedicate time and resources to investigating shady exchanges and ensuring compliance on a regular basis. While the recent moves from the government might appear to be anti-crypto on the surface, their deeper implications will indeed benefit the cryptocurrency industry. How Singapore approaches this question in 2022 is now the major subject of debate in the global and South Asian crypto community.
