Singapore authorities propose to ban retail investors from crypto lending and staking

In addition, by the end of the year, exchanges will be obliged to keep client assets in a trust

03.07.2023 - 11:30

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What’s new? By the end of the year, authorities in Singapore will require cryptocurrency exchanges to keep customer assets in a trust. The initiative is part of an effort to secure funds after the collapse of the FTX trading platform in November 2022, Bloomberg reports. The city-state will also advance a proposal to ban crypto lending and staking for retail investors, the Monetary Authority (MAS) said in a statement. The regulatorbegan consulting on those measures in October last year.

Bloomberg’s material

What else is known? The government’s decision comes after a consultation on tighter oversight of digital assets. “Regulations alone cannot protect consumers from all losses, given the extremely high risk and speculative nature of digital payment token trading,” the MAS said in the statement. Representatives of the regulator added that consumers should continue to exercise “utmost caution” when trading cryptocurrencies.

In April, it became known that the Central Bank and the police in Singapore are developing uniform standards for banks to verify potential customers from the crypto sector.

In February, the Singapore bank DBS reported on plans to obtain a crypto license in Hong Kong. The company said it was “very sensitive” to the risks associated with digital assets and would begin to move forward after studying the new rules and market structure. Since the beginning of the year, Hong Kong authorities have taken several measures to transform the city into a regional crypto hub.

In May, the US Internal Revenue Service sent a special agent to Singapore to combat cybercrime. Three more officers were sent to Sydney, Bogota, and Frankfurt.

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