Global crypto exchange Binance has applied for a license in Singapore under the newly introduced Payment Services Act (PSA).
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and CEO of the exchange, has revealed the prospect in a recent interview with Bloomberg.
“We have already applied [for the new license],” Zhao told the publication. “We submitted the application pretty fast. Binance’s Singapore entity has been in close touch with the local regulators, and they have always been open-minded.”
As FortuneZ reported, Singapore introduced the Payment Services Act (PSA) last month, updating its existing framework for crypto regulations.
With this, the crypto companies come under the direct purview of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which will oversee platforms for provisions in anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing.
The new framework also provided the businesses a window of one month to register with the regulator and another six months to seek a payment institution’s license.
Binance already has a Singapore entity, and it also serves the traders of the city-state with fiat-based trading options.
Apart from Binance, two other exchanges – Tokyo-based crypto exchange operator Liquid and London-headquartered Luno – also showed interest in receiving the same license from the Singapore regulator.
Notably, Luno re-entered the Singapore market last November after almost three years of exile.
Becoming a crypto heaven?
Singapore is one of Asia’s friendly jurisdictions for the incubation of blockchain and crypto startups. MAS also provided two licenses to iSTOX, an unlisted stock tokenization platform, to fully start its operations.
Meanwhile, Binance is boosting its measures to expand its business on a global level. Just last week, the crypto exchange onboarded a former Uber executive to oversee its expansion operations. The exchange has also hired ex-TradingView COO to expand its fiat initiatives.
Indeed, the high-profile hiring makes sense when the exchange is aiming to add more than 180 fiats on its platform by the end of this year.
(Photo: Binance)
