JUST IN: Crypto giant Coinbase licensed to operate in Singapore, major move for COIN

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued crypto giant Coinbase in-principle approval to operate as a digital asset provider. 
• Coinbase acquired this license under the Payment Services Act and established a strong foothold in the region popular for institutional investors. 
• COIN, the tokenized stock of Coinbase has witnessed no major move in price after the crypto giant hit a major milestone. 

Coinbase hit a key milestone obtaining a license from the central bank of Singapore for operating as a digital asset provider. In late 2021 the world’s largest exchange by volume, Binance had pulled out of Singapore after withdrawing its application for a Digital Payment Token License. 

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Coinbase licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank has granted Coinbase in-principal approval for a DPT license to operate in the country. The crypto giant announced this in a press release. Until now the central bank of Singapore has issued a total of seventeen in-principle approvals and licenses under the Payment Services Act.

Coinbase currently has 100 employees in Singapore. The exchange was working with the Singaporean government through local Web3 community groups like the Association of Crypto Currency Enterprises and Start-ups Singapore (ACCESS) and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA).

Hassan Ahmed, the CEO of Coinbase Singapore told Cointelegraph in an interview,

Singapore is a key institutional market for the exchange in Asia due to businesses there continuing to show interest in and gain exposure to crypto.

Coinbase was providing institutional platforms services under exemption from MAS and the exchange is now looking to partner with local platforms and expand its fiat capabilities with its new approval to provide Digital Payment Token services.

Coinbase has plans to expand in Southeast Asia, therefore the issuance of the license is the right first step in that direction. 

Crypto.com v. Coinbase 

Crypto.com is a major crypto exchange in Singapore. The platform was the first to garner a green signal from Singaporean regulators. The crypto community was surprised as it is challenging for leading cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms to function in Singapore. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s standards are strict, it is motivated by the collapse of crypto lenders and platforms including Terra’s LUNA-UST implosion and the collapse of Three Arrows Capital. 

COIN price remains largely unchanged despite news of Coinbase’s Singapore expansion. 

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