Singapore aids crypto firms seeking banks while staying vigilant

(Oct 10): Singapore’s financial regulator is willing to lend a hand to cryptocurrency firms having problems setting up local bank accounts, but doesn’t plan to loosen its rules to lure more crypto startups to the country.

“We should not be trying to create an extremely lax regulatory environment in order to attract that kind of business," Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon said Tuesday when discussing the crypto industry in an interview with Bloomberg News. “What we are trying to do is to bring the banks and cryptocurrency fintech startups together to see if there is some understanding they can reach.”

Singapore has been pushing to develop its financial technology sector as a way of creating jobs and diversifying the economy, while taking a cautious approach to exchanges and other aspects of the cryptocurrency industry. Some crypto firms have complained that there’s a regulatory vacuum that hampers their Singapore operations because they are unable to open local bank accounts, or have had their accounts closed.

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