100 Crypto Companies Did Not Obtain Licenses In Singapore Due To Tough Regulation

About 170 companies have applied for licenses to provide crypto services in Singapore. According to Nikkei Asia, more than 100 companies that applied for a license were either refused or withdrew their applications.

Crypto companies that operated in the country prior to the introduction of the licensing regime were granted exemptions until their license applications were processed. In July, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told parliament that 90 companies are operating under these exemptions.

So far, only three companies are listed as licensed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) website: DBS Vickers Securities, a unit of DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s largest bank; digital payments startup FOMO Pay; and the Australian exchange Independent Reserve. In November, MAS announced that Singapore is aiming to become an international crypto hub.

Image: The Chain Bulletin