Singapore Allowed Aussie Exchange And DBS To Provide Crypto Services

Singapore allowed Independent Reserve and DBS Vickers to start providing crypto services to retail and institutional investors in the country as we are reading more in our latest cryptocurrency news today.

The digital asset trading exchange Independent Reserve recieved approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to provide crypto services in the city-state while the regulator also gave permission to DBS Bank to operate as well. According to the latest reports, Singapore allowed the Australian-based exchange Independent Reserve to start offering digital payment token services to retail and institutional investors in Singapore. Before giving the green light, the Monetary Authority of Singapore considered a few factors like information technology services transactions, protection mechanisms, screening, and compliance structures.

The CEO of the Aussie exchange Adrian Prelozny said he is hopeful that after the licensing, the people of Singapore will be able to deal with digital assets in a fast and secure manner. He added that Singapore’s crypto ecosystem provides local investors with enhanced protection:

“A well-regulated environment will benefit both investors and crypto industry stakeholders. With tailormade rules for the crypto industry, Singapore has the clearest and most detailed licensing requirements of any jurisdiction in Asia. And now, Independent Reserve is one of the first fully licensed crypto exchanges available to Singaporeans, enabling them to quickly and securely use their SGD to get in and out of crypto.”

Prelozny urged Aussies to take an example from the Singaporean “thorough approach to crypto industry licensing” and reminded them that there are no custodian requirements for the exchanges in Australia. He concluded:

“We’d like to see, and have been pushing for, appropriate legislation to be introduced locally that will support the industry and provide protection for investors.”

Just like the exchange, the Singaporean MAS also allowed DBS Vickers as the brokerage arm of DBS Bank to provide digital asset services inside Singapore’s borders. According to the announcement, DBSV can support asset managers and companies to trade in digital payment tokens via the DBS Digital Exchange. Eng-Kwok Seat Moey who is the head of Capital Markets at DBS commented:

“Having received formal regulatory approval from the MAS, DBSV is now in a better position to support institutional and corporate investors in tapping into the growing potential of digital assets as an investment class. This marks another significant milestone in our ability to provide integrated solutions across the digital asset value chain, from deal origination to tokenization, listing, trading, and custody.”

The latest approval for DBS doesn’t come as a surprise since the mas greenlighted the move in August. Back at that time, Moey raised hopes that the initaitive will be quite beneficial for Singapore:

“This will contribute to Singapore’s ambitions to be a digital asset hub in Asia.”