Singapore: Registration Relief on Crypto Exchange Firms Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Singapore's Monetary Authority (MAS) issued a conditional registration relief for a number of its cryptocurrency exchanges, allowing a tremendous amount of local crypto exchange companies to operate without a license. This decision has been integrated in consideration with the COVI-19 epidemic, which has continued to affect the global economy in dire ways. We saw something similar happening in the UK earlier this month, concerning preliminary reports.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore allowed 415 crypto exchanges to operate without holding a license, meaning that they are exempt from registering under the Singapore Payment Services Act (PSA). The date for getting a license has been set to July 28th, but will remain unfixed due to the global outbreak. Among the 415 names are giants like Binance, Ripple, CoinBase, and Paxos. The official MAS statement reads,

“Please note that these entities are not licensed under the PS Act to provide the specific payment services, but are allowed to continue to provide the specific payment services.”

This MAS update has landed in the midst of the city state's regulatory framework update for crypto-related operations. The Payment Service Act, which aims to tighten the grip on digital coin transactions, covers all crypto businesses in Singapore.

The Payment Service Act is in many ways similar to the Fifth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) in Europe, which also endeavors to regulate cryptocurrency activities. The PSA and AMLD5 are notable developments in the attempt to supervise crypto activities.