Cryptocurrency Regulations Not Required Says Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Singapore has always been the country who take pride in staying at the fore-front of new innovative technologies and so is the case with the ongoing Fintech revolution. While majority of the countries are planning to regulate cryptocurrencies, Singapore remains an exception.

During a recent interview with Bloomberg, Ravi Menon, the head of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that that one of the major reasons regulators are cautious and concerned is due to the activities of money laundering using digital assets.

He said:

“As of now, I see no basis for wanting to regulate cryptocurrencies. [Our focus is] look at the activities surrounding the cryptocurrency and asking ourselves what kinds of risks they pose, which risks would require a regulatory response, and then proceed from there.”

 Also Read: Singapore aiming for it’s own Cryptocurrency

The unprecedented surge in the Bitcoin prices and the overall cryptocurrency market has caused regulators from around the world to supervise and scrutinise the flow of funds. The overall cryptocurrency market cap valuations have touched to a staggering $170 Billion (at the time of publishing this article ) and so it being closely monitored by several financial institutions and regulatory bodies. Bitcoin market cap alone was around $98 Billion giving it around 55% share of total cryptocurrency market.

However, Menon believes that the regulations and controls around the cryptocurrency trading exchanges are quite similar to the banking system. He said:

“It is a known fact that cryptocurrencies are quite often abused for illicit financing purposes. And so we do want to have anti-money laundering controls, countering the financing of terrorism controls in place.”

 The intermediaries for virtual-currencies in Singapore have already taken enough measures to combat the finances for terrorism requirements and comply with anti-money laundering procedures.

Ravi Menon also did not shy away from talking about Initial coin Offerings (ICOs) – a decentralised and unregulated way of fundraising by offering new digital tokens in exchange of Bitcoins. ICOs today contribute around $2billion in capital to the cryptocurrency markets and have recently taken a big hit in prominent markets of China, South Korea and a few other countries.

Menon said that ICOs should offer its investors with other economic benefits like dividends and so be included as regular securities offerings and therefore can also be covered by Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi Issues Guidelines for ICO Regulations

Reiterating the stand of Monetary Authority of Singapore, who explained its position on the offer of digital tokens, Menon said:

“The offer or issue of digital tokens in Singapore will be regulated by MAS if the digital tokens constitute products regulated under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) (SFA).”

Singapore is also experimenting with Blockchain Technology in order to garner the benefits of it and implement it in it’s inter-banking payment solutions.

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