The Payment Services Act, which came into force last month, is the first comprehensive regulation for companies handling activities ranging from digital payments to trading of tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether. In addition to bringing crypto firms into the regulatory fold, the law will hand the Monetary Authority of Singapore formal supervisory powers for cybersecurity risks and controls on money laundering and terrorism financing.
(Feb 17): Binance Holdings, operator of one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has applied for an operating license in Singapore under the government’s new payments legislation.
“We have already applied,” Binance co-founder and CEO “CZ” Zhao Changpeng said in a phone interview. “We submitted the application pretty fast. Binance’s Singapore entity has been in close touch with the local regulators, and they have always been open-minded.”
