Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has become the first FinTech company in Singapore to attain the Singapore Data Protection Trust Mark (DPTM).
The company has been in the news for, most notably, buying over the rights to the Staples Center in Los Angeles for a reported US$700 million deal and changing its name to the Crypto.com arena.
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange with support for a range of crypto assets and blockchain-related products, and also offers cryptocurrency credit cards, a decentralized exchange, a standalone crypto wallet, and an NFT marketplace.
It allows users to stake their crypto, or hold it in a Crypto.com wallet for a set period, to earn up to 14.5% interest per year.
On Dec 7, the firm said in a release that it underwent “rigorous third party audits of data privacy and cybersecurity controls” to obtain the DPTM.
The DPTM attests that Crypto.com upholds the four principles of, “Governance and Transparency”, “Management of Personal Data, “Care of Personal Data” and “Individual’s Rights” - which were outlined by Singapore to ensure companies take better care of customers’ personal data.
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Currently, the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority has awarded less than 70 DPTMs to organizations in Singapore of any kind.
In an exclusive interview with The Edge Singapore, Crypto.com’s Chief Information Security Officer Jason Lau shares some reasons why the company decided to go for the DPTM.
He says that while the current environment in the crypto and fintech space is still largely unregulated in many places around the world, Crypto.com does foresee that regulations will grow and as such, it wants to acquire a “first-mover” advantage among its competitors to have these processes in place.
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“When the time comes that the regulators click their fingers and say we need to regulate this market. We are already going to be there,” Lau points out.
He says that Crypto.com wants to be able to build trust, not just with their customers that their data is being protected, but also with local authorities in the markets that they are in.
Lau says, “this is a win-win way to apply for our licenses in any region. Part of the license application they [regulators] will be asking about your security controls, your privacy controls, And the best way instead of just telling them is actually to show them that you have these external audits and these certifications because it's something that has been tested by a third party.”
Despite some in the crypto space espousing a deregulated approach to the industry, Lau does not think that is ideal. He gives the example of the internet, which, went it was out, was seen as another way for hackers to operate and launder money. “Look at us now.”
He says that the increasing regulation around the crypto and Fintech space is a “natural evolution of this industry. Lau also observes the rise of digital assets like central bank digital currencies and governments experimenting with digital assets.
All this leads him to conclude that regulations are “inevitable” and a matter of time. As such, Lau welcomes these regulations “because it helps to make sure that the companies that are playing in this field up to a certain standard.”
The goal, Lau says, is to protect the users. “There's more than sufficient customers in the marketplace for everybody to have a market share. But we want to make the whole ecosystem more secure.”
He adds, “we want to lead the way with our message that security and privacy, as well as compliance, should be not just functions in the business but really strategic board level responsibilities.”
