Singapore’s MAS Considers Tougher Crypto Regulations

The top financial watchdog of the Asian city-state – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – reportedly intends to implement additional regulatory steps in the cryptocurrency industry to create maximum protection for investors.

The agency might launch consumer suitability tests and cut the use of leverage and credit facilities by retail investors for trading digital assets.

• Despite aiming to become one of the global crypto hubs across the globe, Singapore has also shown intentions to supervise the local digital asset ecosystem in a stricter way than most other nations.
• According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the MAS might double down on its previous rules by running customer suitability tests. It is also willing to monitor how the retail sector engages with crypto without prohibiting such users from accessing the market.
  

  “Banning retail access to cryptocurrencies is not likely to work. The cryptocurrency world is borderless. There is greater impetus now among global regulators to enhance regulations in this space. MAS will also do so,” the MAS’s Managing Director – Ravi Menon – said.

• The agency will publicly consult on the amendments by October this year.
• Two months ago, Sopnendu Mohanty – CFS at the MAS – stated that the watchdog will be “brutal and unrelentingly hard” for bad actors in the crypto space.
• Taking additional measures seems like a natural step after what happened to numerous Singaporean crypto-related companies in the past few months. At the end of June, a court in the British Virgin Islands ordered the cryptocurrency hedge fund – Three Arrows Capital – into liquidation.
• Shortly after, the firm filed for bankruptcy, while its top executive – Su Zhu – was rumored to have left Singapore to escape the consequences of local law. Some reports hint that he might currently reside in Dubai.