Coinbase Singapore has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the crypto exchange platform said in a statement on Monday (2 Oct).
The licence will enable Coinbase Singapore to expand its digital payment token service to customers in Singapore.
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The MPI licence comes one year after the largest US crypto exchange received its initial ‘in principle’ approval.
MPIs allow businesses to conduct multiple payment services without being subjected to S$3m monthly transaction limits for any payment service.
Coinbase’s Singaporean branch has seen significant expansion in recent months with Coinbase releasing PayNow and FAST bank transfer in Singapore in March 2023.
Coinbase also introduced no-fee stablecoin USDC purchases with SGD and integrated Singapore’s digital identification system Singpass into its onboarding processes.
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By GlobalData“We’ve identified Singapore as a vital market for Coinbase. The nation’s progressive economic strategies and approach to regulation sync well with our global mission,” the platform said in its statement.
Public confidence in cryptocurrency has remained low since FTX’s $40bn bankruptcy in November 2022, which saw the crypto market lose billions and fall below a $1trn valuation.
The company collapsed following a liquidity crisis – as customers demanded withdrawals of up to $6bn over fear their assets were no longer safe.
Former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried’s trial will begin with jury selection on Tuesday (3 Oct) and is due to last for six weeks.
Lawmakers will decide whether Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and customers at his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, and stole billions of dollars.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
On June 27, a federal judge rejected Bankman-Fried’s request to dismiss all charges being put on him by the US government.
Meanwhile, the crypto industry faces an uphill battle to restore wider confidence in the sector.
Following JPMorgan UK’s ban on crypto transactions over scam fears last week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticised the move, calling it an attempt to ‘de-platform this whole industry, in an interview with CNBC.
In March, NatWest limited the daily and monthly amounts of crypto customers could exchange while Santander moved to ban UK customers from sending real-time payments to crypto exchanges in an effort to tackle a growing number of crypto scams.
TSB instituted a block on crypto assets in 2021 due to the high levels of fraud and HSBC placed restrictions on cryptocurrency purchases with credit cards in February this year.
The UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, Action Fraud, reported that crypto fraud increased 40% in the year to March, surpassing £300m for the first time.
