Circle Inc., one of the largest and most influential digital assets ecosystems in the U.S., scores a crucial license for its Asian expansion. Amid another regulatory attack on crypto, this announcement might be of paramount importance.
Circle now licensed in Singapore: What to know
According to the official statement shared by Raagulan Pathy, VP for the Asia region and CEO of the Singapore unit at Circle, the firm's local affiliate now has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
BIG NEWS: We have obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)!
— raagulanpathy (@raagulanpathy) June 7, 2023
The license allows Circle Singapore 🇸🇬 to offer digital payment token services, alongside cross-border money t…https://t.co/GUhBmMIdyR https://t.co/eOxb4bJsW9
With this license, Circle is authorized to offer local clients domestic money transfers and cross-border money transfers, as well as its Circle Account, a product that enables USD Coin (USDC) usage for corporate clients.
For Singapore-incorporated businesses, it means a quantum leap in USDC liquidity accessibility and cross-border remittances. Some of them might even replace existing fiat-based wire transfers by Circle's stablecoin.
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, stressed the paramount importance of this milestone for the progress of his products on new markets in Asia:
Singapore is integral to Circle’s global expansion and mission in raising global economic prosperity and through the frictionless exchange of value. We are honored to receive the MPI license from MAS, and we remain committed to being a part of Singapore’s dynamic economy by advancing the future of financial technology innovations in the city-state, uplifting its emerging technology and fintech sector, and creating business and career opportunities for its technology and financial industry talent.
It should be noted that Circle scored In-Principle Approval as a Major Payment Institution License holder from MAS seven months ago, in late November 2022.
Hong Kong relaxes regulatory frameworks?
This announcement sounds impressive amid new regulatory attacks by the U.S. watchdog. In recent days, the U.S. SEC announced that it sued Binance and Coinbase for offering unregistered securities to American citizens.
Per SEC documents, the watchdog is sure that almost all major altcoins, including the likes of Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC) and Solana (SOL), are unregistered securities and should be regulated accordingly.
Some experts are sure that these attacks will push crypto companies out of the U.S. to more friendly jurisdictions, including Asia-Pacific and the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong regulators highlighted that game tokens will not need special regulatory status in the country, local crypto media outlets report.
Gamza Khanzadaev
Yuri Molchan
Godfrey Benjamin
