According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) top fintech officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, the sector would not accept bad behavior in the crypto ecosystem.
Mohanty’s remarks come amid turmoil in the cryptocurrency market brought on by the failure of two tokens from Singapore-based Terraform Labs, namely terraUSD (UST) and terra (luna), which destroyed $40 billion in investor capital.
“We have no tolerance for any market bad behavior.” “If somebody has done a bad thing, we are brutal and unrelentingly hard.”
Mohanty told The FT in an interview
Another Singapore-based cryptocurrency company, hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, has had difficulties as a result of Terra’s collapse. The fund’s investment in luna experienced huge losses, and the ensuing market crisis required forced liquidations.
Several lenders, notably BlockFi and Voyager, are having financial issues as a result of Three Arrows Capital’s inability to service its loans. Recently, both acquired credit lines from Alameda Research.
Singapore’s regulator won’t grant licenses easily, says Mohanty
He continued by saying that the MAS would be cautious to provide licenses to cryptocurrency companies. In order to license cryptocurrency enterprises, the government has implemented a “painfully long” and “very rigorous due diligence process,” according to him.
So far, the MAS has only approved 14 companies to offer crypto services. The regulator handed Crypto.com, Genesis, and the cryptocurrency trading platform Sparrow in-principle clearance earlier this week.
Overall, Singapore’s opinion of the cryptocurrency industry has changed significantly. Prior to recently, the nation actively courted the industry, but as a result of its stricter stance, crypto companies have relocated to other nations, notably Dubai.