Singapore Becoming Asia’s Hub for Crypto Projects?

There are some countries that are more open to the idea of having decentralized currencies. There’s Malta that has opened its doors to ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Also, you have countries that have been dealing with economic problems such as Iran and Venezuela that were both forced to take cryptocurrencies as a way to save the economy from hyperinflation and/or from US sanctions.

As for Singapore, the Singapore Blockchain Week had some interesting developments for blockchain technology. Singapore Consensus 2018 has welcomed different crypto visionaries to entrepreneurs and experts. The idea is to build a community where people can build on the future of the industry.

Monetary Authority of Singapore

The representatives of Monetary Authority of Singapore were also present. They were able to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies in the country. And it seems that the Singaporean financial regulators are serious and are ahead than other developed countries when it comes to their understanding of cryptocurrencies.

First, MAS was able to have categorized different types of cryptocurrencies such as utility tokens, payment tokens, and security tokens. Damien Pang who is the Head of FinTech Ecosystem and Infrastructure within MAS mentioned that “the MAS takes a close look at the characteristics of the token, in the past, at the present, and in the future, instead of just the technology built on”.

A Guide on Digital Token Offering

During the time when Southeast Asian countries, Korea, and Japan were still confused regarding how to handle ICOs, Singapore has already released a Guide to Digital Token Offering. It offers application of securities laws on digital token offerings and issuances. In fact, Singapore’s regulators are considered pioneers when it comes to economic and regulatory standards in the region.

Singapore is the first stop for many crypto-related companies for a reason. Even in the US, there is still a number of things that regulators have to work on. In fact, even the US SEC is still hesitant as to how to handle the industry.

A few months ago, a Korean company called MVL has introduced Tada in Singapore. It is somewhat Uber but it operates on blockchain. Tada is an on-demand car sharing service that utilizes that of MVL’s existing tech. Tada app makes use of the MVL blockchain which specializes in the automotive industry.

There is also an announcement that Binance and Upbit, both Korean companies, are looking to enter the Singaporean market. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance announced that there will be a fiat exchange that will be based in Singapore. As for Upbit Singapore, it is expected that this crypto exchange is going to be operational by October this year.

Is Singapore going to be the next best place for crypto investors? In 2017, there were a number of ICO issuances that were based in the country. It was trailing the United States and Switzerland. In fact, one of the reasons why crypto industry is thriving in Singapore is the fact that their regulators are open about it. Aside from Singapore, only Thailand has a delineation as to how to classify cryptocurrencies.

Pang mentioned that MAS isn’t going to regulate the utility of the tokens. They are going to regulate payment tokens that have a store of value and payment properties. We can expect this bill coming true by the end of the year.