Crypto.com secures regulatory approval to set up shop in Singapore

Cryp­tocur­ren­cy plat­form Crypto.com has received in-prin­ci­ple approval from Singapore’s main mar­ket reg­u­la­tor for its Major Pay­ment Insti­tu­tion License.

Grant­ed by the Mon­e­tary Author­i­ty of Sin­ga­pore (MAS), the license enables com­pa­nies to offer a range of pay­ment ser­vices with­in the Pay­ment Ser­vices Act, includ­ing dig­i­tal pay­ment token (DPT) ser­vices to cus­tomers in Singapore.

Crypto.com is coming to Singapore

Kris Marsza­lek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, said the com­pa­ny was look­ing for­ward to deep­en­ing its roots in Sin­ga­pore. In the company’s announce­ment, he not­ed that Sin­ga­pore was a flour­ish­ing mar­ket for fin­tech inno­va­tion and praised its well-reg­u­lat­ed busi­ness environment.

“The Mon­e­tary Author­i­ty of Sin­ga­pore sets a high reg­u­la­to­ry bar that cul­ti­vates inno­va­tion while pro­tect­ing con­sumers, and their in-prin­ci­ple approval of our appli­ca­tion reflects the trust­ed and secure plat­form we have worked dili­gent­ly to build.”

The company’s announce­ment comes just days after receiv­ing pro­vi­sion­al approval of its Vir­tu­al Asset MVP License from reg­u­la­tors in Dubai. Once the Dubai Vir­tu­al Assets Reg­u­la­to­ry Author­i­ty (VARA) grants the license, Crypto.com can pro­vide its exchange ser­vices to Dubai residents.

Crypto.com was one of three com­pa­nies that received in-prin­ci­ple approval for the DPT license in Sin­ga­pore. Accord­ing to The Busi­ness Times, trad­ing plat­forms Gen­e­sis and Spar­row Exchange, via unit Spar­rowtech, also secured reg­u­la­to­ry approval.

Deputy Prime Min­is­ter Heng Swee Keat said these approvals reflect Singapore’s desire to work with blockchain and dig­i­tal asset players.

“We are com­mit­ted to part­ner­ing with inno­v­a­tive and respon­si­ble play­ers to grow the Web3 ecosys­tem and com­mu­ni­ty in Sin­ga­pore,” he said in a record­ed speech at the open­ing of the Point Zero Forum in Switzerland.

Includ­ing the three new addi­tions, Sin­ga­pore has grant­ed licens­es and in-prin­ci­ple approvals to 14 DPT ser­vice providers. At the end of May, the Mon­e­tary Author­i­ty of Sin­ga­pore received a total of 196 appli­ca­tions for its DPT license. So far, 108 appli­ca­tions are pend­ing review, 74 have been with­drawn, and three rejected.