Binance’s Singapore subsidiary plans to withdraw its application for a cryptocurrency license in the city-state and evict local customers by February 13, 2022, according to the exchange.
BINANCE Singapore unit has withdrawn its application for crypto permission
The BINANCE Singapore unit has withdrawn its application for crypto permission from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and will cease operations in the city-state by February 13, according to a statement released on Monday (Dec 13).
“We always put our users first, so our decision to close Binance. sg was not taken lightly,” said Richard Teng, Chief Executive Officer of Binance Singapore. “Our immediate priority is to help our users in Singapore transition their holdings to other wallets or other third-party services.”
Registrations, crypto, and currency deposits, and trading on Binance. sg will all be closed as of today. Users can buy and sell cryptocurrency using their existing assets until January 12th, after which all accounts must be closed by February 13th.
“It was not an easy decision for us to shut down Binance. sg. Our top goal right now is to assist our Singapore users in transferring their funds to other wallets or third-party services “Binance Singapore’s chief executive, Richard Teng, stated. “I appreciate the MAS’s continued support of Binance Asia Services, and we look forward to future opportunities to collaborate.”
The Business Times reported earlier this month that Binance’s local arm is considering abandoning its application to operate in Singapore because its application is still in regulatory limbo. Even as smaller companies gain the green light, the crypto exchange has been waiting months for its local subsidiary, financed by Temasek-linked Vertex Ventures, to secure a permit.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is expected to announce its global headquarters choice soon. This decision will exclude Singapore from consideration, paving the path for a drive towards Europe and the Middle East.
Out of the roughly 170 crypto businesses that applied to the regulatory authority for a Digital Payment Token, more than 100 have either withdrawn their applications or been denied by the MAS.
Only four licenses for cryptocurrency operations have been granted in Singapore yet, allowing them to provide digital asset services to Singaporeans. Binance purchased WazirX, one of India’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, in November 2019.
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