Singapore to adopt stricter rules for retail ‘crypto’ investors: MAS chief
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s de facto central bank and financial market regulator, has continued its campaign to impose stricter regulations on digital assets while encouraging blockchain-related innovation.
In his opening remarks given at a local fintech festival tagged Green Shoots Seminar, MAS CEO Ravi Menon stated that the regulator is committed to countering speculation in digital assets, which he described as “the source of the crypto world’s problems.”
Menon noted that despite MAS’s several warnings to investors against digital assets, surveys still show that many retail investors seem “irrationally ignorant of the risks of cryptocurrency trading.” Therefore, the body is considering further measures to drive home the point, as banning the asset class is not working.
“Adding frictions on retail access to cryptocurrencies is an area we are considering. These could include customer suitability tests and limiting the use of leverage and credit facilities for cryptocurrency trading,” he said.
This is just one of the five risk areas for digital assets that MAS focuses on. According to Menon, the regulator is also working on regulations to combat the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing; managing technology and cyber-related risks; maintaining the promise of stability in stablecoins, and reducing the potential risk to financial stability.
Singapore is still in the process of becoming a global digital asset and blockchain hub
Despite his strong opposition to the speculative nature of digital assets, the MAS chief is not writing off the entire ecosystem. He expects Singapore to continue to become “one of the most conducive and facilitating jurisdictions for digital assets.”
This can be achieved when regulations and innovation go hand in hand. On the innovation aspect, he said Singapore is actively exploring and encouraging the adoption of underlying blockchain innovations such as distributed ledgers, smart contracts and tokenization across a wide range of applications, as well as exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC ).
In particular, this is not the first time that MAS has expressed its stance on digital asset speculation. In response to parliamentary inquiries about its digital asset approach, MAS has often stated that it is actively working to make the country’s digital asset regulations more stringent for both investors and businesses.
A Reuters report notes that the recent market crash that saw the collapse of several Singapore-based digital asset firms such as Three Arrows Capital may also contribute to MAS’s concerns about the industry.
See: BSV Global Blockchain Convention panel, Blockchain for Government Data & Applications
New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeks Bitcoin for beginners section, the ultimate resource guide for learning more about Bitcoin – as originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto – and blockchain.
