City Singapore Financial News

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

The Monetary Exchange of Singapore (MAS), ​​the country’s central bank and financial regulator, reminded all authorized cryptocurrency exchanges in the country to comply with financial sanctions in place toward Russia. 

The government will also review property rights for tokenised assets.

Hong Kong's government has proposed allowing retail investors to trade in cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds – a move it hopes will help it rebuild its fintech hub status.

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, along with the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and Terra founding member Nicholas Platias, are facing a fresh $57 million class action suit from aggrieved investors in Singapore. 

Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs who may be facing legal actions in South Korea and the United States, is the target of a lawsuit in Singapore along with the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and Terra founding member Nicholas Platias.

Singapore's retail investors may have to take a risk awareness test to be allowed to trade crypto, in order to ensure that they have sufficient knowledge of the risks involved. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is introducing proposals to better regulate the cryptocurrency industry in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of the Singaporean crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

MAS said it discourages the public from speculative trading in cryptocurrencies.

Instead it is proposing stringent new requirements on providers of Digital Payment Token (DPT) services deisgned to discourage casual use of cryptocurrency trading by consumers. These include mandatory testing of customers to guage prior knowledge of crypto risks; a ban on retail users from borrowing or accepting credit card payments to purchase crypto; and the prohibition of crypto-related incentives, such as free tokens, gifts, or celebrity endorsements.Firms will also be mandated to separate customer assets from their own assets, introduce clear risk management controls, and disclose the policies and procedures for selection and listing of tokens.While the proposals are likely to dampen speculative growth in crypto trading, the central bank has taken a more nuanced approach to the use of stablecoins as a medium of exchange.In a bid to lend credibility to tthe emerging asset class, the current regulatory framework, which primarily addresses money laundering and terrorism financing risks, and technology and cyber risks, will be expanded to ensure that regulated stablecoins have a high degree of value stability.Non-bank issuers of stablecoins wil also be required to hold liquid assets which are valued at higher of 50% of annual operating expenses to achieve recovery or an orderly wind-down.

“Big four” accounting firm KPMG and technology and financial services company Aspen Digital found that family offices (FO) and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Hong Kong and Singapore "have embraced" the digital asset class, with more than 90% of survey respondents having already invested in the space or planning to do so. 

Hong Kong and Singapore’s wealthy elite appear to be looking at digital assets with fervor, after a new report from KPMG suggesting over 90% of family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) are interested in investing in the digital assets space or have already done so. 

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

According to a Bloomberg report, two United States regulators, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are now investigating the bankrupt Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for misleading investors about its balance sheet and not registering with the two agencies.

The International Criminal Police Organization is reportedly planning to strengthen its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes by forming a dedicated division.

Liquidators for Three Arrows capital (3AC) have asked a U.S. court to grant them permission to subpoena the embattled crypto hedge fund's founders through “alternative means.”

Germany has become the most favorable crypto economy in the world in the third quarter of 2022, according to a new report. The United States, the joint top-rank holder from last quarter, fell six places to rank seventh on the top crypto economy.

Cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com has recently beengranted preliminary approval from Singapore to provide crypto services in the Southeast Asian city-state. The exchange plans to grow its Singapore office and expand its client base as this process goes underway.

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Coinbase, announced that Singapore’s central bank had approved it to provide payment services in the city-state.

Coinbase has entered the Singaporean market as it has gained approval from the central bank to offer its crypto services in the city-state.

Crypto giant Coinbase gets Singapore licence