The
Monetary
Authority
of
Singapore
(MAS)
has
released
the
second,
final
tranche
of
its
responses
to
feedback
on
a
consultation
paper
of
proposed
regulations
for
crypto
service
providers.
The
central
bank
kept
the
requirement
for
crypto
entities
to
discourage
cryptocurrency
speculation
by
retail
customers
by
not
offering
financing,
margin
transactions
or
any
incentives
to
trade,
it
said
Thursday.
The
MAS
also
wants
crypto
entities
to
not
accept
locally
issued
credit
card
payments
and
to
determine
a
customer’s
risk
awareness
before
allowing
access
to
the
services.
Singapore
has
been
chasing
a
regulatory
balance
for
crypto
while
trying
to
lure
the
industry.
The
announcement
is
part
two
of
responses
to
feedback
received
on
its
proposed
regulations
for
digital
payment
token
(DPT)
service
providers
in
Singapore.
The
first
instalment,
from
July,
required
providers
to
deposit
customer
assets
under
a
statutory
trust
before
year-end
for
safekeeping.
“MAS
has
been
very
consistent
about
its
stance
against
speculative
retail
trading,
so
it
is
unsurprising
that
they
are
largely
moving
ahead
with
their
proposals,”
said
Angela
Ang,
a
senior
policy
adviser
for
blockchain
intelligence
firm
TRM
Labs
and
a
former
MAS
regulator.
“That
said,
they’ve
landed
on
slightly
less
restrictive
measures
in
areas
such
as
the
inclusion
of
cryptocurrencies
in
determining
customers’
net
worth.
This
shows
that
MAS
is
listening,
and
is
willing
to
consider
industry
feedback,
even
if
they
do
not
always
agree.”
Among
the
less
restrictive
measures,
MAS
has
eased
the
limits
on
qualifying
as
an
accredited
investor,
clarifying
that
some
crypto
assets
can
be
counted
toward
the
S$2
million
($1.5
million)
needed.
It
also
appears
to
have
allowed
exchanges
to
come
up
with
their
own
criteria
for
listing
tokens
as
long
as
they
disclose
conflicts
of
interest,
publish
criteria
that
govern
the
listing
and
establish
procedures
to
resolve
customer
disputes.
Hong
Kong’s
approach
is
more
prescriptive,
Ang
said,
allowing
only
tokens
that
satisfy
the
regulator’s
criteria.
The
MAS
also
has
high
availability
and
risk-incidents
reporting
stipulations.
These
are
in
line
with
current
requirements
imposed
on
other
systemically
important
financial
institutions,
but
not
payment
service
providers,
making
this
a
special
provision
for
crypto.
The
rules
will
take
effect
in
phases
from
mid-2024
to
provide
an
“adequate
transitional
period”
for
their
implementation.
The
rules
are
aimed
at
limiting
potential
consumer
harm,
MAS
said.
“While
these
business
conduct
and
consumer
access
measures
can
help
meet
this
objective,
they
cannot
insulate
customers
from
losses
associated
with
the
inherently
speculative
and
highly
risky
nature
of
cryptocurrency
trading,”
said
Ho
Hern
Shin,
deputy
managing
director
for
financial
supervision.
