Binance shutting down Singapore branch
Binance, the embattled crypto exchange, has announced that its Singapore branch would drop the application for a cryptocurrency exchange license and would be looking to wind down its operations.
The exchange has been facing a lot of heat all around the world with the regulators and with regard to the approach that it had chosen where it chose to not have a headquarters anywhere but instead opened an exchange in many countries without being licensed or regulated there.
Lack of Licensed Entity
It was hoped that it would be looking to change that by setting up a licensed entity in Singapore which would be the driving force for the exchange within Asia and other parts of the world but by this action, where it would be shutting down its operations in the Singapore exchange by February of next year, it has laid all those hopes to rest.
“We always put our users first, so our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly,” said Richard Teng, Chief Executive Officer of Binance Singapore. “Our immediate priority is to help our users in Singapore transition their holdings to other wallets or other third-party services.”
Dubai a Possible Choice?
This is also a big setback for Richard who was seen as the face of Binance Singapore and with his experience as a regulator and his experience with the MAS was seen as a huge advantage for the crypto exchange in its push for the license. It remains to be seen what role he would be undertaking once the exchange shuts down in Singapore. Binance would also be on the lookout for a new base for its Asian operations and it is increasingly likely that it would be looking towards the Middle-East for the same.
Dubai is fast-emerging as a crypto friendly location and we have been hearing reports of many crypto companies looking to set up their base in the region. Binance is also likely to look towards moving in the same direction in the coming months and it would be no surprise if they manage to get licensed there. As for the Singapore operations, the company said that it would continue to function as a blockchain technology hub for that region and would also probably be looking to expand on its HGX stake acquisition which it had announced last week.
