• One proposal seeks to stop retail investors from buying crypto with credit cards and trading with leverage
  • Stablecoin issuers would also be required to enhance anti-money laundering and terror financing controls

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank, is seeking public feedback on proposed measures to ramp up crypto and stablecoin policy in the wake of Terra’s spectacular collapse.

In doi documente de consultare published Wednesday, MAS is requesting feedback on a range of issues relating to digital assets. It’s the biggest set of proposals the country has conceived since 2019.

MAS, which doubles as Singapore’s primary financial regulator, is pitching a number of restrictions on digital payment token service providers, namely exchanges, including barring them from offering incentives to retail customers.

That move would bolster existing regulament put in place at the beginning of this year, when MAS banned service providers from advertising or promoting to the public via any means except their own websites.

MAS is also seeking comments on proposed restrictions on debt-financed and leveraged crypto transactions in a move that would prohibit providers from accepting credit cards. The bank is even floating an outright ban on leveraged trading for retail customers.

Effective measures to safeguard the private keys and storage of customers’ crypto are being explored with emphasis ensuring that just any one staff has access to client funds. 

Singapore’s regulatory tightening follows the saga of now-insolvent crypto hedge fund firm Trei săgeți capitale, which was headquartered in the island city-state. 

It was revealed earlier this year that some of the industry’s largest lenders, including Rețeaua Celsius și Călătorie digitală, had exposure to the fund as it suffered from its own poor investment decisions, including in the imploded Terra ecosystem.

As such, MAS is proposing providers implement appropriate risk management controls and segregate customers’ assets in the case of insolvency and hardship for certain businesses. 

The appointment of an independent custodian for all service providers will also be debated during a four-week period, starting from now.

Singapore central bank could boost local crypto credibility

In an accompanying stablecoin hârtie de consultare, MAS is seeking to increase its powers over single currency-pegged stablecoins (SCS) issued by companies registered within its borders.

MAS intends to carve out a separate category to cater for SCS issuers under the state’s Payment Services Act, mandating issuers whose token exceeds $5 million require a license.

The rules wouldn’t necessarily apply to the largest stablecoin companies in the crypto space, such as Tether și Cerc, as both companies are registered outside Singapore.

The most prominent stablecoin pegged to the Singaporean Dollar, XSGD, commands a market capitalization de mai jos $53 million, while both Tether and Circle together oversee more than $110 billion in circulating supply.

MAS is fielding comments on whether there could be grounds to extend its regulatory reach to stablecoins issued elsewhere, although it’s unclear exactly what that would look like.

In any case, regulated SCS issuers within Singapore will be required to meet existing money laundering and terrorist financing requirements, as well as technology and cyber risk management currently applicable to all regulated payment service providers.

Additionally, the regulator wants regulated banking entities to have enough legal runway to issue their own stablecoins. MAS is further eyeing rules to bolster stablecoin reserve asset treasuries for both institutions and non-bank issuers.

“The additional regulations on stablecoins help to create credibility for a volatile asset class, and currency-based tokens should come under a higher standard given that they have much broader applications for payments,” Chen Zhuling, CEO of Singapore-based staking solutions firm RockX told Blockworks in an email.

Public feedback on the two proposals is being sought until December 21 of this year. A definitive timeframe has not yet been established on when the measures would be implemented.


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  • Banca Centrală din Singapore caută feedback cu privire la interdicția de levier criptografic PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Căutare verticală. Ai.
    Sebastian Sinclair

    Blocuri

    Reporter senior, Asia News Desk

    Sebastian Sinclair este un reporter senior de știri pentru Blockworks care operează în Asia de Sud-Est. Are experiență în acoperirea pieței cripto, precum și a anumitor evoluții care afectează industria, inclusiv reglementări, afaceri și fuziuni și achiziții. În prezent, nu deține criptomonede.

    Contactați Sebastian prin e-mail la [e-mail protejat]