The Curly Road to Licensing
In a surprising twist worthy of a telenovela, Singapore has seen a dramatic rise in the number of digital payment token services biting the regulatory dust. Out of 170 such service providers, a whopping 103 have reportedly failed to secure licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It’s a bit like trying to navigate a maze blindfolded — seems easy until you bump into a wall!
A Challenging Landscape for Crypto Exchanges
As the land of Merlion and extraordinary hawker food, might also have expected more vibrant crypto activity. Yet, crypto exchanges like Bitxmi have hit a regulatory snag, painfully echoing the sentiment of their CEO, Sanjay Jain, who said, “We can’t operate in Singapore”. One poor soul in the local office handling legal stuff hardly screams ‘business operation.’
The List of Fallen Giants
The MAS has released a list that would make any exchange owner cringe. This alphabet soup includes renowned names like BitGo Singapore and Revolut Technology, now stripped of their once cozy exemption status under the Payment Services Regulations. Meanwhile, others like Bitstamp and Coinbase are prancing around with their shiny new licenses, waiving at the unlicensed crowd.
The Tightrope of Compliance
MAD says, “We want to support crypto!” but they also add a sinister twist recognizing risks like money laundering and terrorism financing. It’s enough to make any crypto vendor break into a sweat. To keep their doors open, these companiest must now implement stringent measures like customer due diligence, regular account reviews, and, oh, the ever-so-fun task of monitoring and reporting suspicious transactions. Just another Tuesday in crypto land!
A Ripple in the Crypto Sea
As if the licensing drama wasn’t enough, major players are throwing in the towel. Binance.sg put a halt to onboarding new users faster than a cat jumps off a hot tin roof. Even Huobi has plans to dispatch all Singapore users faster than you can say “regulatory compliance”. One can only hope that the remaining players can navigate this rocky regulatory terrain and keep the crypto party alive!
