Singapore to grant licences to digital payments services providers in ‘momentous’ move for cryptocurrencies
- News that ‘several’ firms are in line to be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been met with fanfare within the industry
- Move cements city’s status as Asia’s leading crypto-financial hub, experts say, as rivals such as Hong Kong have adopted stricter stances
Jason Davis, an associate professor of entrepreneurship and family enterprise at Insead, said it was a “careful next step” into a new category of financial innovation.
“Technological change is upending finance and we are seeing strong institutional interest in digital assets,” she said, adding that banks and asset managers had been building their digital assets offerings.
Previously, Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve said it had received an “in-principle approval” from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to be licensed as a regulated provider of digital payment token services. In a media statement, it said it was one of the first virtual asset service providers to be granted such approvals.
The MAS confirmed to This Week In Asia that it had notified several out of 170 applications it had received that it was “prepared to grant them payment services licences”. But these applicants needed to put in place measures to meet its requirements to operate as a licensee, it added.