More than 100 companies that applied for a license to provide encryption services in Singapore were either rejected or withdrawn their applications. “Due to the speed and cross-border nature of transactions, cryptocurrencies may be abused for money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing,” said the country’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Singapore’s strict encryption regulation

Since Singapore began to regulate the encryption industry earlier this year, about 170 companies have applied for licenses to provide “digital payment token services”, including encryption-related services.

However, according to a report from Nikkei Asia on Monday, more than 100 companies applying for licenses have been rejected or withdrawn.

Companies operating in the country prior to the introduction of the licensing system were granted exemptions until their licensing applications were processed. Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told Parliament in July that 90 companies operate under such exemptions.

A spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, and the crypto industry regulator told the news media: “Due to speed and intersectionality, cryptocurrencies may be abused for money laundering, terrorist financing, or proliferation financing. The nature of transactions is borderline. .” The spokesperson explained in detail:

Singapore’s digital payment token service providers…must comply with requirements to reduce such risks, including the need to conduct appropriate customer due diligence, conduct regular account reviews, and monitor and report suspicious transactions.

So far, only three companies have been listed as Licensed entity On the MAS website: DBS Vickers Securities, a subsidiary of DBS Group Holdings, the largest bank in Southeast Asia; digital payment startup FOMO Pay; and independent reserves in Australia. MAS stated in November that Singapore is striving to become a Global Encryption Center.

Head of Capital Markets of DBS Bank and Chairman of the Bank’s Cryptocurrency Exchange Say September: “Our development is very rapid. Investors are gradually exploring cryptocurrencies and digital assets.”

In September, the central bank Order Binance stopped providing encryption services to residents.Last week, Binance announced that its Singapore platform will be closure.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) claimed that the reason for the closure of its Singapore Exchange was an 18% stake in Singapore’s regulated stock exchange Hg Exchange (HGX). However, Bloomberg reported that the real reason was because Binance could not meet the license requirements for operating a cryptocurrency exchange.

What do you think of Singapore’s strict cryptocurrency regulation? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

As a student of Austrian economics, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection of economics and cryptography.