Coinbase gets Singapore in-principle approval for DPT license

Fintech (financial technology) has created numerous opportunities for disruptive economic entrepreneurship. More companies in Singapore are looking to provide services for buying and selling digital payment tokens (such as cryptocurrency) or a platform for exchanging such digital payment tokens.

As a result, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) enacted the Payment Services Act (PSA) to accommodate and regulate such payment service transactions, requiring any business that intends to provide digital payment token services first to obtain the necessary licences.

Recently, the Singapore-based arm of the US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase received Singapore's MAS "in-principle approval"to provide crypto services in the country.

Hassan Ahmed, CEO of Coinbase Singapore and the exchange's regional director for Southeast Asia, told in a statement that Singapore is a critical institutional market for the exchange in Asia because businesses there continue to show interest in crypto and digital advancements.

According to Ahmed, the city-state also serves as Coinbase's Asia-Pacific tech hub, with an on-the-ground team of engineers in charge of the company's international expansion efforts and platform localisation.

With the new approval to offer Digital Payment Token services, Ahmed said Coinbase would seek to collaborate with regional platforms and expand its fiat capabilities. Coinbase was already offering services, including its institutional platform, under an exemption granted by MAS.

The exchange claims it has ongoing collaborations with regional Web3 organisations like the Singapore Fintech Association(SFA) and the Association of Crypto-Currency Enterprises and Start-ups (ACCESS).

Other firms to qualify for in-principle approval

Under a new regime, approximately 180 crypto companies applied for a crypto payments licence with the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2020. Following extensive due diligence, the country has granted 17 in-principle approvals and licences.

Among those who have received licences are Coinbase, Crypto.com, and DBS Vickers, the brokerage run by the country's largest bank DBS (DBSM.SI).