Singapore Central Bank Puts Binance on Alert List

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Singapore’s central bank has sent a warning to Binance.com for offering financial services without registering in the country. 

Binance.com Under Fire in Singapore

Singapore has alerted investors against using Binance. 

Singapore’s central bank and top financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has listed Binance.com on its Investor Alert List, a record of unregistered financial firms in the country.  

The Investor Alert List includes the names of companies that were incorrectly labeled as licensed or regulated by MAS. The document also serves as a cautionary warning for investors not to deal with unregulated entities. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore also clarified that the global exchange had breached the country’s Payment Services Act. Furthermore, it can no longer solicit business from Singaporeans as the entity has not sought legal permission to do so.

In the last year, Binance has come under intense scrutiny from financial authorities around the world.

Many regulators have warned that Binance has offered trading services without registering in their respective countries. Binance has received warnings from a host of countries including the U.K., Poland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.

It is worth noting that Binance has a Singapore-registered division called Binance Asia Services PTE Ltd. Binance operates various subsidiaries in several countries, which may have a completely different legal status than Binance.com. Binance’s local division in Singapore is already registered with the MAS and operates the Binance.sg trading platform.

As per MAS records, Binance Asia has been given a temporary exemption to operate its exchange in Singapore without a license while the regulators review their application. However, the same exemption does not apply to the global exchange, Binance.com.

Some Singaporeans have reported that they have purchased crypto assets using the local currency (SGD) on binance.sg then send them to the global platform for trading. Such activities may be problematic as per the country’s laws.

Amid continuous tussle with regulators, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao has expressed his intentions for the exchange to become a regulated financial entity. It recently made several changes including introducing mandatory KYC requirements for new users and hiring more compliance officers, possibly in an attempt to appease regulators. Despite such efforts, Binance’s regulatory woes have continued.

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