The Monetary Authority of Singapore recently opened its doors to crypto by introducing the Payment Services Act. This policy is intended to regulate cryptocurrency payments and trading using regulations that currently govern traditional fiat payment services as a guideline.
Any interested parties must apply for the appropriate licenses in Singapore, including a standard payment institution license, a money-changing license, and a major payment institution license, Cointelegraph reported. One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges has done just that. Binance, with its headquarters in Malta but also offices in cities across Asia, is attempting to expand its user base while staying regulatory compliant.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known as “CZ,” commented on the expediency of the process: “We submitted the application pretty fast. Binance’s Singapore entity has been in close touch with the local regulators, and they have always been open-minded.”
As cryptocurrency exchanges expand into new markets, local governments are still trying to decide how to regulate them. The Payment Services Act is the first such legislation in Singapore regulating crypto trading and digital payments.
Binance isn’t the only one to see the potential of Singapore’s new regulations. Crypto exchange operators Luno, based in London, and Liquid out of Tokyo also plan to apply.
Binance site issues
Meanwhile, many Binance users have been reporting strange issues on on the exchange after placing orders and checking their balances on Monday. In some cases, entire accounts saw their holdings evaporate as exchange wallets incorrectly showed 0 balances, be[in]crypto reported. Others said trades were going through but the balances would not update.
This appears to be a sitewide issue for Binance affecting many users. So far, the exchange has not issued a comment on these reported problems.
Binance has faced criticism over the last few days over its functionality. Days ago, traders were also reportedly struggling to place BTC/USDT longs on Binance. Some large traders received error messages when trying to take out a USDT loan for margin trading. CZ has admitted to the “slight delay in the order book display across some trading pairs” and said that the team is actively working on it.
