The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has declared that it will go tough on any erring player in the cryptocurrency industry.
The authority’s Chief FinTech Officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, disclosed this in an interview. According to him, there was an ongoing turmoil in the industry, caused by the frenzy that counties have gone into, with the advent of crypto.
He warned that the Singaporean Government would not treat issues related to misdemeanors in the crypto industry with kid gloves.
He further acknowledged the criticisms of the country’s stance by some players in the industry.
In his words, “We have been called out by many cryptocurrencies for not being friendly. My response has been: friendly for what? Friendly for a real economy or friendly for some unreal economy?”
Since the beginning of 2022, Singapore seems to have changed its stance on the cryptocurrency industry.
Before now, the country had shown signs of acceptance towards cryptocurrency but has suddenly changed its opinion.
Singaporean authorities also remain strict in the issuance of licenses for cryptocurrency firms.
The currently has only granted the license of operation to only 11 firms, with the latest being Crypto.com.
Singapore prides itself as a country putting in high-risk management mechanisms concerning cryptocurrencies.
Early this year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) prohibited all cryptocurrency-related adverts from appearing in public places.
MAS had even shut down cryptocurrency ATMs across the country, declaring them illegal and unsuitable for the general public.
Instead, the country is looking toward launching its digital currency by 2025.
Earlier this month, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Heng Swee Keat had asked retail investors to steer clear of investing in cryptocurrency.
Keat had cited the collapse of terra and terra USD as reasons for his comments.
“We will continue to evaluate applications, and facilitate live experiments through regulatory sandboxes, to enable safe adoption in the financial sector,” Keat said in this regard.
Keat, who described cryptocurrencies as risky, said “We must continue to adapt our rules to ensure that regulation remains facilitative of innovation, and yet addresses the key risks that crypto-assets pose”.
These strict guidelines over the operations of the Cryptocurrency industry had led companies such as Binance and Bybit to shift their operations.
A hedge fund managing company, Three Arrows Capital has also announced plans to shift
base.
