Singapore’s unicameral government has enacted a law requiring all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in Singapore to register for licences in an effort to tighten crypto regulations. This comes as Singapore makes a concerted effort to put legislation in place to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Financial Services and Markets Bill, which has been adopted, has the following provisions:
Giving Singapore’s Monetary Authority greater authority to prohibit those who are deemed unsuited to undertake important duties, responsibilities, or activities from working in the domains of payments and risk management in the country.
The maximum punishment for financial firms that disrupt their services has been raised to $738,000 dollars (SGD 1 million).
The bill was passed after DBS, Singapore’s largest bank, scrapped plans to introduce crypto exchange services to ordinary investors due to rising regulatory concerns. The bank had previously stated its plan to offer retail traders members-only services on the DBS Digital Exchange crypto trading platform.
It’s unclear how the new regulatory framework will affect big crypto players in the country, such as DBS. Some crypto players may be unable to access the South Asian countries’ markets as a result of the law. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in December 2021 that it would close its Singapore exchange and instead focus on creating a “blockchain innovation centre” in the country.
The Singapore High Court issued a judgement last month, recognising crypto as property and issuing propriety injunctions against anybody suspected of stealing it.
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