The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is apparently attempting to secure cryptocurrency services in Singapore once again. The exchange’s custody arm intends to seek a license in order to begin offering cryptocurrency services in Singapore.
Despite Singapore’s historically favorable attitude towards cryptocurrencies, the government presented various obstacles to the exchange. In February of last year, the cryptocurrency exchange ceased operations in Singapore.
Binance Asia Services, the Singapore subsidiary of Binance, ceased operations in December 2021 after withdrawing its application for a local license. The cryptocurrency exchange cited “strategic, commercial, and developmental challenges” as the cause.
Meanwhile, the crypto exchange’s custodial arm, now known as Ceffu after Binance renamed it from Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), will apply for a Capital Markets Service license with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Vice president of Ceffu Athena Yu stated: “With the city’s reputation for innovation, sound corporate governance, and a robust regulatory environment, it should come as no surprise that institutional investors are drawn to establish a presence here.”
According to the regulator, the MAS previously put regulatory pressure on Binance, which led to the crypto exchange’s withdrawal from the market in 2021, when it opted not to renew Binance’s license for failing to implement the essential modifications.
The director of law enforcement training at Binance, Jarek Jakubcek, said that after the license was cancelled, the exchange underwent significant modifications and now satisfies the standards of the regulator.
Although halting services to regular investors in Singapore owing to pressure from the MAS, Binance continues to provide crypto services to Singapore-based institutional customers.
By rejecting the exchange’s plan, market watchdogs in the United States have also applied severe regulatory pressure. Binance.US, the United States branch of the cryptocurrency exchange, intended to purchase the assets of the insolvent cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital.
It has come to light that this purchasing strategy may violate local securities regulations. This increased scrutiny follows the fall of FTX and, now, Binance. In this transaction, U.S. authorities have expressed objection.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also taken action against Paxos’s BUSD stablecoin. Paxos was forced to halt minting new BUSD tokens, resulting in a 40% decline in the stablecoin’s market capitalization.
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