cryptovibes.com
Officials in Singapore have now issued a notice to the would-be Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto investors, warning them of the many dangers that come with engaging with such a highly volatile market.
Interestingly, this warning comes about 48 hours after Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong was involved in an incident. The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued this warning after the state’s prime minister was caught up in a fake token scam. The prime minister had his likeness appropriated by a BitClout social token platform user, who used the PM’s name to sell tokens valued at around $10,000.
On April 6, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, warned of the inherent risks that come with speculating in the crypto space. He asserted that their value was not tied to any form of underlying fundamentals. Shanmugaratnam insisted that the retail investors should stay away from this market. BNN Bloomberg reported:
“Cryptocurrencies can be highly volatile, as their value is typically not related to any economic fundamentals. They are hence highly risky as investment products, and certainly not suitable for retail investors.”
Several days earlier, the Singaporean Prime Minister warned all citizens to remain vigilant when it comes to crypto investing after many tokens were minted bearing his likeness, name, and social medial profile.
BTC’s 1,000% growth in the last year has attracted many scammers and drawn out multiple government warnings including those issued by Hsien and Shanmugaratnam. Bitcoin and the other cryptos are forcing most regulators to take notice as their growing market caps raise them away from the “fringe asset” status and simultaneously legitimize them in the investors’ eyes.
Shanmugaratnam believes that the MAS will continue to monitor crypto developments keenly and will try to maintain a speedy regulatory pace as technological progress continues. Shanmugaratnam concluded:
“The crypto assets space is constantly evolving. MAS has been closely monitoring developments and will continue to adapt its rules as needed to ensure that regulation remains effective and commensurate with the risks posed. Investors, on their part, should exercise extreme caution when trading cryptocurrencies.”