Cryptocurrencies have been in the news lately all over the world. Interest among retail investors, in cryptocurrencies, is partly also fueled by the prospect of BTC rising to touch $100,000 this year.
First the Fed dampened a bit of this high by its announcement of an imminent raising of interest rates. Accompanying this is the global uncertainty in the crypto regulatory environment. Plus the geopolitical risks arising out of the tensions in Ukraine. However, despite this rather gloomy outlook for the financial world in general and also for the crypto ecosystem, some countries remain positive in their outlook towards crypto with certain regulatory restrictions.
Singapore is one those crypto-friendly countries. Investments in crypto in Singapore touched $1.48 billion last week. In Singapore, crypto investments stood at $110 million in 2020. Government promotion of crypto through crypto-friendly policies saw investments rise to $1.48 billion in 2021. This despite the fact that public crypto advertising is banned in Singapore.
The crypto-friendly policies in Singapore prompted many crypto players to set up shop in the country. The MAS has promulgated regulations for their operations in the country. Not all the crypto players who set up shop met the requirements of MAS. The most prominent example was that of Binance which withdrew its application. It could not meet MAS’s KYC and AML requirements.
It is expected that the banks already having operations in Singapore would be better able to meet the MAS requirements. They already have a relationship with MAS and also have the infrastructure to enter the space.
Not surprisingly, DBS announced its plans to open its trading platform for digital assets to retail investors. To make the ecosystem safe for retail investors, DBS said that it was putting in place safeguards to protect against fraud.
