The Singapore affiliate of Binance, Binance.sg has withdrawn its application for a crypto permit from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for license to operate in the Southeast Asian country.
The exchange was among 170 companies that applied for the MAS license to provide crypto services in Singapore. Binance had been operating under a temporary exemption during the licensing process.
Growing Regulatory Pressure on Binance
After almost a year of waiting for the MAS license, on Monday, December 13th, the world’s largest crypto exchange announced that it was calling it quits, and had withdrawn its application to operate a digital payment token (DPT) service in Singapore.
According to reports, the exchange pulled the rug on its crypto dreams as it failed to make any headway with the financial regulators of Singapore. The exchange announced would not be going ahead with its launch of a crypto exchange in the country and would instead be shutting down its crypto services in the region by February 13th, 2022.
Binance.sg disclosed that users have until January 12th to buy and sell their existing assets on the platform. However, registrations, crypto, currency deposits, and trading will be closed immediately. By February 13th, 2022, all accounts on its platform must be closed.
On the Flipside
- Although giving up on its crypto exchange, Binance, which had launched in Singapore in 2019, will not be leaving the country.
- Earlier this month, the exchange invested in Singapore-based Hg Exchange, acquiring an 18% stake.
Richard Teng, chief executive of Binance Singapore, disclosed the following in an official statement;
"Our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly. Our immediate priority is to help our users in Singapore transition their holdings to other wallets or other third-party services."
Why You Should Care
The increasing global scrutiny on the crypto industry from governments and financial watchdogs has challenged the ability of exchanges like Binance to thrive.
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