Crypto Exchange Binance Ends Some Services in Singapore to Comply With Regulation

Binance Scaling Down Services in Singapore

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Monday some changes to its offerings in Singapore. The company wrote:

　With effect from 2021-10-26 04:00 AM UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8), users in Singapore will not be able to access certain functions on Binance.com including fiat deposit services, spot trading of cryptocurrencies, the purchase of cryptocurrencies through fiat channels and liquid swap (‘Regulated Payments Services’).

The announcement adds that “Users in Singapore are advised to cease all related trades, withdraw fiat assets and redeem tokens” by the deadline “to avoid potential trading disputes.”

Binance Singapore has been undergoing changes since the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank that oversees the crypto sector, issued a warning about Binance. The central bank wrote: “MAS has reviewed Binance.com’s operations and is of the view that Binance, the operator of Binance.com, may be in breach of the Payment Services Act … Binance is required to cease providing payment services to Singapore residents and cease soliciting such business from Singapore residents.”

The exchange subsequently ceased trading in Singapore dollars to comply with local laws and removed its app from the Singapore iOS and Google Play stores.

In August, Binance Singapore appointed a CEO with many years of compliance background. Richard Teng was formerly CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Meanwhile, Binance has been heavily scrutinized by regulators worldwide, including those in the U.K., Netherlands, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Lithuania, Italy, and Canada. U.S. authorities are also investigating Binance for possible market manipulation and insider trading.

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