Coinbase’s blog post stated, “Singapore is home to over 700 Web3 companies, making it a pivotal market for the growth of the crypto and Web3 economy… We're ready to continue our work in Singapore, supporting and growing with the local crypto and Web3 community.”
Crypto exchange Coinbase has acquired a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), bringing it one step closer to expanding its presence in Southeast Asia. The announcement came almost a year after Coinbase received the initial approval from the Singaporean regulator.
Calling Singapore a priority market, Coinbase highlighted that 25% of its surveyed Singaporean residents consider cryptocurrencies the future of finance. Coinbase has also launched multiple services for Singapore-based clients over the last few months. This includes SingPass digital ID integration and support for PayNow and FAST payment gateways.
The MPI license is one of the three licenses issued by the MAS that involves a thorough review of a firm’s compliance arrangements, risk assessment, and security provisions, among other factors. It also has higher minimum eligibility requirements and monetary thresholds than the Standard Payment Institution (SPI) license. MPI-certified firms are allowed to conduct business without the SG$3M ($2.18M) monthly transaction limit on a single payment service.
It is worth noting that Coinbase has increased its efforts to expand to other nations with clearer crypto rules ever since it received a Wells Notice from the SEC earlier this year. In fact, Coinbase has already registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Spain, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Written by
Ayush Pande
Ayush Pande is a hardware, gaming, and crypto writer based in India. He's a tech enthusiast who's fascinated by the potential of blockchain technology.
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