As recently as last year, Singapore has positioned itself to become a global crypto hub. However, due to the downtrend in the market and the liquidity crisis, regulators are strengthening their stance.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Central Bank of Singapore, said: Said Financial Times:
“We are not tolerant of bad behavior in the market. If someone does something wrong, we are brutal and mercilessly difficult.”
He added:
“We have been called by many cryptocurrencies for being unfriendly.
My reaction is as follows: What are you friendly for? Is it friendly to the real economy or is it friendly to the unrealistic economy? “
Mohanty’s comments are a bit different from what MAS director Ravi Menon shared last year. The crypto economy, which Mohanti dismissed as “unrealistic,” was seen as having the potential for job creation and added value by Menon.
In an interview with Bloomberg in November 2021, Menon Said:
“In a sense, if the crypto economy gets on track, we want to be one of the key players.
It can help create jobs, add value, and I think other sectors of the economy will potentially benefit more than the financial sector. “
Over the past few years, many crypto exchanges, including Binance and Gemini, have turned to Singapore in search of their crypto-friendly stance. Recognized crypto-friendly regulations and low taxes have been major incentives for these businesses.
However, over the past few months, MAS has issued guidelines focused on stricter digital assets. For example, in January 2022, MAS banned crypto-related advertising and crypto ATMs in public spaces. Since then, Binance and other crypto exchanges have changed their foundations.
In Mohanti’s words, Singapore has introduced a “painfully slow” and “very rigorous due diligence process” to license crypto companies. City-states are cautious about presenting crypto licenses, and Crypto.com has become the latest company to obtain a principle license on June 22nd. In total, Singapore has granted 14 licenses and principle approvals.
Mohanti said:
“I think the whole world is lost … In private currencies, this is causing turmoil in all this market.”
Mohanti doesn’t appreciate digital assets, but accepts the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). He said Singapore is ready to launch its own CBDC within three years.
