The Deputy PM of Singapore says that the government doesn’t see cryptos posing a huge threat to the country’s financial system.
There is a lot of confusion out there in the crypto world as the world stands divided by its views and opinions and how it looks at the future of digital currencies ahead. In the past six months, two major Asian economies, China and South Korea have brought a lot of regulatory measures either to completely eliminate or reduce the dominance that digital currencies are gaining slowly.
On the other hand, there are a few countries like Japan that have rolled-out crypto-friendly policies in the past. Everyone has been eyeing upon Asia’s another major economy – Singapore. Singapore has fostered tremendous growth over the past decade or two and is a progressive country known for absorbing new technologies into mainstream applications.
Recently, in a written response to MPs, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister – Tharman Shanmugaratnam – said that at this stage the government doesn’t consider it necessary to ban crypto trading activities in the country and they don’t see it as a threat to the country’s financial system.
“Cryptocurrencies are an experiment. The number and different forms of cryptocurrencies are growing internationally. It is too early to say if they will succeed. If some do succeed, their full implications will also not be known for some time,” Shanmugaratnam said.
The Deputy PM along with the head of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has confirmed its stand in a direct response to some lawmakers who earlier questions about the PM’s stand on the emerging crypto financial system.
The Deputy Prime Minister said: “The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been closely studying these developments and the potential risks they pose. As of now, there is no strong case to ban cryptocurrency trading here.” He further continued stating “Its use in making payments is small, and trading volumes of cryptocurrencies in Singapore are also not high – they are much smaller than in countries like the U.S., Japan and South Korea.”
However, the deputy PM also had a message for those who might think using of cryptos for under benefits and illicit activities like money laundering. He said: “[But] we will be subjecting those involved as intermediaries to our anti-money laundering regulations. And we will keep highlighting to Singaporeans that they could lose their shirts when they invest money in cryptocurrencies.”
He said that to take care of these issues, the MAS will be imposing anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) requirements on those involved in crypto trading activities like buying, selling, or exchanging currencies. He also added that “We set out this AML/CFT regulatory framework for virtual currency intermediaries last year as part of our public consultation on the proposed Payment Services Bill.“
