The Crypto environment is becoming more friendly in Singapore

The rise in crypto assets has led traditional banks to enter the market in the United States and throughout the world. In response to that, more and more companies are promoting their tokens and offering them to clients. This trend has been quite active in many Asian countries and Singapore is not an expectation in this regard too.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets traded on the platforms and are created with the help of blockchain technology, which makes the whole industry separated from the central authority. Fiat currencies are backed by central banks who are responsible for ensuring that the currencies maintain their declared value. This assurance enables us to execute business transactions ranging from the purchase of a cup of coffee to the purchase of a new home. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not have such supporters.

Old meets new

In April Sygnum Bank, the world’s first digital asset bank with offices in Switzerland and Singapore conducted a survey. It asked people to vote on what they thought were the most important indications of Bitcoin acceptance for its eventual market domination. With 90 votes cast, the majority of respondents believe that bitcoins entering US banks is the most important reason.

Morgan Stanley became the first US bank to provide affluent clients with access to bitcoin money last month. This quarter, Goldman Sachs has also revealed intentions to provide bitcoin and other digital assets. Another reason comes in second place in the S&P new bitcoin index, which received 43% of the vote as the most important reason driving bitcoin’s drive for market dominance. In 2020, the value of the world’s largest cryptocurrency tripled.

Singapore’s HNWIs take a punt

These developments are catching the attention of Singapore’s high net worth investors. Signum Capital, a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on blockchain-enabled initiatives, has backed more than 70 companies with cash generated from family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Each investment is worth anything from $100,000 to $2 million.

DBS Private Bank now provides a trust solution for four cryptocurrencies through its fully owned trust firm, allowing its private banking clients to invest, customize and manage digital assets. Meanwhile, important news is that Saxo began crypto trading for bitcoin, ethereum, and litecoin in Singapore, and the investors can trade with it on the online trading platforms from a single margin account as well as registering for the websites that are already allowing crypto betting in Singapore which is a big step forward for this industry, as the online gamblings were declared illegal in 2014. This restriction did not include sports betting, which is still legal in Singapore.

Retail investors can trade on a 60% margin due to the volatile nature of the products, while accredited investors can trade on a 40 and 50% margin.

Art attack

A Singapore-based entrepreneur programmer spent $69 million in cryptocurrency on a piece of digital art in March. Non-fungible tokens are impossible to duplicate digital certificates of ownership for digital assets, and he jumped on the bandwagon. This NFT movement is also being tapped by Singaporean and regional artists. Customers can purchase an outfit from a Singapore-based fashion brand. Customers would then be asked to take a photo of themselves and the store would dress them in the digital outfit they had just purchased.

Buyers Beware

On May 19, China made it illegal for financial institutions and payment services to provide services related to bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin fell below the 40,000 level for the first time in over three months as a result of the reaction. That means it plummeted drastically from the year’s highest number.

Regulators are keeping a close eye on how cryptocurrencies are being used to launder money. Cryptocurrencies are incredibly being used to pay for ransomware attacks. Vertex-backed the US Department of Justice and the Internal Service are investigating Binance Holdings for money laundering and tax evasion. It is believed to be the largest crypto exchange in the world. Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that is based in the Cayman Islands with a registered office in Singapore. It has said that it does not possess any corporate headquarters.