Blockchain.com Secures Licence in Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a payments license to the bitcoin exchange Blockchain.com.

The license allows “to provide regulated digital asset trading services to global institutional clients and accredited investors,” the company’s representatives said.

Singapore is also Blockchain.com’s Southeast Asia headquarters.

“We are very pleased to obtain this license, which will allow us to provide our products and services in the country. We thank MAS for its transparent regulatory process, in which priority is given to the supervision of the crypto industry, enabling innovation to thrive,” said Peter Smith, chief executive and co-founder of the exchange.

Earlier, Ripple received in-principle approval from MAS. In June, the same list joined the co-emitter of the stablecoin USDC — Circle.

As reported in August, MAS announced the allocation of more than $110 million to support fintech innovations, including Web3. The agency will run open competitions and, on their results, provide grant funding.

Earlier, the regulator released a report on the outcomes of work in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements on Project Guardian. The initiative aims to study the alignment of tokenisation and DeFi with international standards.