Binance Singapore is closed

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has withdrawn its application for an operating license and announced its closure in Singapore in 2022.

BNB announced that its subsidiary BNB Asia Services has withdrawn its application to operate a cryptocurrency exchange with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). According to Nikkei, the BNB.sg site will be closed and officially closed from February 13, 2022. At the same time, this exchange has stopped approving new accounts and has been sending digital and fiat money in Singapore starting today.

BNB users are required to close their investments and withdraw their crypto assets, Singapore dollars, prior to the exchange’s closing date. The company said the decision was made “with global business, trade and growth strategies in mind.”

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has ceased operations in the Singapore market. Photo: Reuters.

“We always put our users first. So the company’s decision to close Binance.sg was not an easy one. Our immediate priority is to help Singapore users move their assets to other wallets or third-party services, ”said Richard Teng, CEO of Binance Singapore.

In early September, the Singapore regulator called Binance to stop providing services to the people of this country. Thereafter, Binance Singapore operated under Binance Asia Services to obtain regulatory approval from the Singapore tax authorities pending the results of the license application.

Binance is the next company to announce its closure in Singapore after the country’s authorities have become more cautious in their approach and approving companies operating on digital platforms. So far, only three crypto companies have appeared as licensed companies on the Singapore Central Bank’s website.

Last week, Binance announced that it holds an 18% stake in the Singapore-based Hg (HGX) exchange. This is a private exchange based on the blockchain platform.

“Cryptocurrencies and traditional financial services are converging. Through this investment, we aim to partner with HGX to improve the offering of products and services based on blockchain technology, ”said Richard Teng.

Similar to Binance, other crypto companies continue to be interested in the Singapore market despite the very low licensing rate.

“A Singapore government seal of approval is important to any digital asset business,” said Kai C. Chng, CEO and co-founder of Digix, an Ethereum-based asset tokenization platform.

Todd Mokaris, co-founder and partner at JST Capital, a Singapore-based financial firm, said the new characteristics of the cryptocurrency market require MAS Activity monitoring should be improved. “We believe that clear guidelines and regulations are valuable for participants and are good for the digital market in the long term,” he told Nikkei.

Binance was founded in China in 2017, but the company has yet to build a global base. Instead, the exchange consolidates the company in the locations where it operates. Binance Singapore was founded in 2019 as the third branch in the Binance ecosystem.