Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is slowly shutting down the huge following it had built up across the world. To remain compliant with Singapore’s regulatory entity, it has announced that it will restrict offering trading pairs and payment options in Singapore dollars. Additionally, the platform also revealed the removal of the app from Singapore iOs and Google Play stores.
In its official blog post, the exchange detailed,
“Binance P2P will remove SGD trading pairs on Friday, 2021-09-10 04:00 AM UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8). Users are advised to complete all related P2P trades and remove related trade advertisements by Thursday, 2021-09-09 04:00 AM UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8) to avoid potential trading disputes.”
Binance stated that the main intention behind the move is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets. It further went on to add that,
“Binance welcomes developments to our industry’s regulatory framework as they pose opportunities for the market players to have greater collaboration with the regulators. We are committed to working constructively in policy-making that seeks to benefit every user.”
Singapore regulators tagetting Binance
Some of the countries that have cracked down on the exchange this year are- Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. South Africa’s financial regulator also joined the growing list when it recently warned its resident that the platform is not authorized to operate in the country.
The latest news comes after the CZ-led exchange appeared on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s investor alert list. The regulator’s notice to the cryptocurrency giant last week warned that its global platform could be breaking the law by offering payment services to the residents of Singapore without an appropriate licence.
MAS, which happens to be Singapore’s central bank as well as a financial regulator, only mentioned “www.binance.com” on the investor alert list, which contains a record of unregulated entities that may have been erroneously regarded as being regulated or licensed by the watchdog.
Just two weeks earlier, the crypto exchange had onboarded Richard Teng, the former chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Stock Exchange, as CEO of Binance Singapore. Interestingly, Teng had also worked at the Monetary Authority of Singapore for more than a decade as director of corporate finance. It is also important to note that the Binance Singapore website, Binance.sg, was not placed on the aforementioned investor alert list. A spokesperson had earlier confirmed that the two are separate exchanges and that Binance.sg operates in the country with its own local executive and management team. Furthermore, the platform is backed by Vertex Venture Holdings and is entirely concentrated on developing the Singapore cryptocurrency ecosystem and servicing users in the country.