A woman rides a bicycle with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and skyscrapers in the background on September 4, 2023 in Singapore.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
Singapore's financial regulator has announced that following feedback on the proposed regulations, Singapore will introduce stricter rules for crypto service providers.
“The consulted proposals detail business conduct and consumer access measures to limit potential consumer harm,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement on Thursday.
The measures include banning crypto service providers in Singapore from accepting locally issued credit card payments, providing incentives for crypto trading, lending to retail customers, and offering margin or leverage trading. The final measures will be implemented in stages from mid-2024, MAS said.
The regulator also requires cryptocurrency service providers to publish policies, procedures and standards governing the listing of digital payment tokens and establish effective procedures for addressing customer complaints and resolving disputes. It also plans to issue rules on business conduct, including mandatory regulations.
“DPT service providers have a duty to protect the interests of consumers who interact with their platforms and use their services,” said Ho Han Shin, Deputy Managing Director of Financial Supervision at MAS. Ta.
“While these business practices and consumer access measures help achieve this objective, they do not protect customers from losses associated with the inherently speculative and high-risk nature of virtual currency trading,” Horror said. he said.
“We urge consumers to always exercise caution and caution when dealing with digital payment token services and to avoid doing business with unregulated entities, including those based overseas.”
MAS has repeatedly warned that trading in cryptocurrencies is risky and not suitable for the general public, as their prices are subject to volatility and speculation.
Singapore's Payment Services Act, the framework regulating the public provision of payment and cryptocurrency services, first came into force in January 2020.
Since then, Singapore has increased its oversight of crypto companies. In July, it ordered companies to hold customer assets in statutory trusts by the end of the year. MAS also restricts companies from facilitating lending or staking of assets of individual customers.
In January 2022, Singapore banned cryptocurrency service providers from promoting their services in public or through third parties such as social media influencers. Crypto service providers may only market or advertise on their corporate websites, mobile applications, or official social media accounts.
At the Singapore FinTech Festival 2023 held last week, MAS managing director Ravi Menon said cryptocurrencies have “failed the test of digital money”.
“These virtual currencies have poor performance as mediums of exchange and stores of value. Their prices are subject to speculative fluctuations. Many investors in these virtual currencies have suffered significant losses.” said Menon.
