By Singapore’s Payment Services Act, the renowned cryptocurrency and digital token exchange company Coinbase has obtained a complete major payment institution (MPI) license. With the issuance of this license, Coinbase now officially joins the list of companies permitted to offer services for digital payment tokens within the Republic.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) gave Coinbase provisional approval about a year ago, according to an announcement by Coinbase. Users’ digital tokens remaining in the custody of Coinbase are momentarily locked up and frozen as part of the staking process to confirm blockchain transactions and gain rewards in the form of more tokens.
With the MPI license that it has been awarded, Coinbase is now able to provide a variety of cryptocurrency payment services to businesses and people in Singapore. For instance, as CoinBase attains a full license in Singapore, it will now be able to provide its Singaporean users with staking and trading services.
Special attention to Singapore
The local team of CoinBase operating currently in Singapore consists of almost 100 individuals – spanning engineers, product managers, business development specialists, and legal compliance staff – according to Mr Hassan Ahmed, the national director of CoinBase Singapore. The cryptocurrency company stated that Singapore has been regarded as a crucial market for Coinbase since its early presence in Lion City.
The country’s ambitiously forward-thinking economic policies and regulatory framework are very synchronically in line with their mission worldwide and objectives of global concerns. The statement in favor of the spirit and polity of Singapore comes from the firm as CoinBase attains full license in Singapore.
To meet local demand, Coinbase introduced practical funding solutions like FAST and PayNow bank transfers earlier this year. These come along with the country’s domestic system of onboarding known as SingPass.
As the Singapore nation’s central bank and Apex financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore had stated in a recent press release on its website last month that “most applicants have not been successful” and that it only provides licenses to cryptocurrency firms if they have robust safeguards against money laundering offenses.
CoinBase’s investment in Web3 continues
Coinbase’s Asia Pacific technological hub is Singapore, and the business has actively invested via its investment-focused subsidiary channel, Coinbase Ventures, in over 15 Web3 startups there. This activity is estimated to receive even more impetus, especially since CoinBase has attained a full license in Singapore now. Despite declining by 12% from the prior quarter, the company’s Q2 revenue, which beat projections, came in at US$707.9 million.
According to a Coinbase study done in May, 32% of Singaporeans have owned or currently hold some cryptocurrency assets, and 25% of those respondents believe that cryptocurrencies will play a significant role in the future of finance.
Coinbase announced stronger financial results in August, with its second-quarter net loss falling from a record US$1.1 billion to US$97 million. Coinbase has succeeded in staying relevant in the digital trading scenario and profitably flourishing despite several legal and regulatory difficulties – the most noteworthy of which was a lawsuit brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) contending illicit operations allegedly undertaken by the crypto company.
The Central Bank of Singapore gave Coinbase the initial approval in October of 2022 for providing its payment services within the city-state. It can now use services for digital payment tokens thanks to the in-principle approval that the central bank began granting to crypto firms last year. The firms are also subject to regulation by the central bank under the Payment Services Act.
In 2020, under a new framework, some 180 crypto firms sought a crypto payments permit from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 17 in-principle permissions and licenses have been granted by Singapore following a thorough due diligence procedure that is still underway.
Also Read: Robert Kiyosaki expects Bitcoin to become priceless Amidst CBDC Adoption.
