Prohibited by China, In the wake of the crisis in South Korea and the new sanctions in Hong Kong, the cryptocurrency market has taken over Singapore as another difficult solution for Asia.
The 5.5m long-term world community relies on financial resources to help manage its $ 344bn economy, and is now locked in a major competition with Hong Kong and Tokyo for the Asian World Cup.
Its integration with this section has reached out to fintechs who want to disrupt traditional banks. In an independent world, regulators have not only praised the good that can be done with crypto but have done it backwards and rules.
As of January 2020, crypto companies can apply for operating licenses under the Payment Services Act – a law that regulates companies that pay for digital payments and sell tokens such as bitcoin.
“Technology that promotes cryptocurrencies and digital tokens could lead to new financial services,” Loo Siew Yee, assistant chief executive of Singapore’s financial services, payment and financial services team, told the Financial Times.
Underneath the reception, however, is a cold calculation from policy makers: opening the doors to Singapore for crypto companies could remain a vital tool in the pursuit of the country as Asia’s economic capital, and ultimately, to be read globally.
The opening up of Singapore is very different from the dangerous exchanges that take place in other regions. Coinbase, the largest exchange on the list, in September he drove out the way of the crooked on Twitter against the US Securities and Exchange Commission is complaining about “humorous practices”.
Confusion due to Binance
But as Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong cool down on crypto, the potential dangers of this approach are becoming apparent. Nowhere does this look better than the management of Binance, One of the largest exchanges in the world in which the powerful founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zao, lives in Singapore.
The company was criticized by some regulators this year for issues such as consumer protection and compliance with anti-money laundering laws. Binance has stated that it requires strict adherence to its rules and has established requirements for customer assurance.
MAS in September posted Binance’s global page on a list of financial information, which prevented Singapore customers from using it. But the editors left the page, which was not affected, meaning that Singaporeans could use the site, just as the company was shot around the world.
When crypto exchange users are an attack on the financial security guards Elsewhere, experts say that there may be an opportunity for those who benefit from better management to play the role of a good police officer.
“It is becoming more and more common in Singapore to be more socially responsible and to be more confident in corporate markets,” said Haseeb Qureshi, co-manager of Dragonfly Capital, a VC fund with crypto around the world. “They need to show that they are open to new things, friendly to business and to people at risk of economic hardship,” he said.
Unlike the US Congress, the Singapore government played a leading role in the development of corporate development.
Together with Binance, some of the world’s largest exchange platforms, including Gemini, Coinbase and Crypto.com, have all applied for operating licenses. While waiting, many have been given access, meaning they can sell to sellers and agencies. On Friday, the regulators issued the first permit to the Australian exchange Representation Area.
Writing notes on ethereum
This approach has attracted the attention of those in the fast-growing industry.
“Singapore has been thinking for a long time about these things,” said the founder of a start-up company that provides community and family offices. “Years ago I went to listen to Vitalek Buterin [Ethereum’s co-founder] speak town and in my line there were three people from MAS writing urgently. ”
Encouraging market regulators – and directing them – provides much-needed protection, says Sander Laugs, a senior customer in Swiss business affiliated with Crypt Seba, which is expanding its presence in Singapore.
Approximately 20% of programs have been removed or rejected by MAS for non-compliance with its standards on revenue management, criminal financing or technical risks.
“Companies that don’t set standards will either struggle to get licenses or be able to do business the way they do,” Laugs said.
Nor is it just foreign exchange growing up in Singapore. Home banks are trying to increase it.
The DBS trading group, the country’s largest bank, received a “special” permit from MAS in August to start offering crypto services such as bitcoin trading to institutional investors. The bank last year launched a digital exchange that provides cryptocurrency trading and monitoring services to other investors.
“It is important for Singapore to remain a global financial hub and to prepare for digital use,” said Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, chief marketing officer at DBS. “Now is the time to help change the markets.”
The desire for cryptocurrencies will come to Singapore’s financial portfolio, GIC, which this year installed the Hong Kong parent of OSL. Vertex Ventures, funded by the state-owned company Temasek, and funded by Binance Asia, a Singapore retailer.
Fighting Tokyo
Beijing’s announcement last week that all crypto activities were illegal not only increased Singapore’s interest, it left little doubt that Tokyo was the country’s biggest threat in the war against Asia.
The Japanese regulator has spent a very long time trying to eliminate the risk and reward for accepting crypto. The Financial Services Agency was the first to recognize the legitimacy of crypto currencies, and the Japanese government was the first in the world to define a crypto exchange business in 2017.
He did this in order to establish a reputation for skills acquisition in this new economic environment. But the experience in Japan also illustrates the challenges facing Singapore.
Although the FSA moved to legislate, Japanese courts were still scrutinizing the collapse of the Mt.Gox exchange in Tokyo, which previously held 80% of global trade. Shortly after Japan took the lead in the exchange, Japanese customers at Coincheck were caught with a heist of XEM funds amounting to about $ 500m.
The case tarnished the FSA’s reputation, as well as its claims that with the first registration of crypto, it was also at the forefront of knowing how to protect customers from the many risks that could occur.
The head of the crypto exchange that he registered in Japan who works with the FSA says the regulator is struggling with the problem.
“They are keen to describe Japan as a well-known economic center and the face of crypto adoption is the best way to do this,” the crypto chief said. “Also, he can see that his risk is high due to the large number of young Japanese who have a lot of money in the profession.”
This year’s rise in the price of Bitcoin, the world’s best-known cryptocurrency, has attracted notable experts such as Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller.
ARK founder Cathie Wood is a cryptocurrency investor, predicting that it will cost $ 500,000 in five years.
The biggest question for governments, says Wood, will be how they choose to tackle the risks of cryptocurrencies, as well as the economic benefits that come with it.
“It’s going to be very difficult for us to quit our professional jobs,” Wood said. “Countries understand that in order to attract innovation, they need better governance, co-operation and diversity.”
Singapore gambling has reached a critical level.