Singapore grants licence to stablecoin issuer Circle
The licence authorises it to provide services for digital payment tokens and local and international money transactions inside the city-state.
The Singaporean central bank granted Circle a licence on 7 June to create stablecoins. A Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence has been obtained by Circle Internet Singapore Pte. Ltd., the Boston-based stablecoin issuer's Singapore subsidiary, from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The license enables it to offer local and international money transfers as well as digital payment token services within the city-state. Following in-principle approval as a major payment institution from the local regulator in November 2022, Circle Singapore officially opened its doors last month.
"Singapore is integral to Circle's global expansion," stated co-founder and CEO of Circle Jeremy Allaire. Chief Strategy Officer at Circle, Dante Disparte, remarked,
"The receipt of the MPI licence represents our continued commitment to work with forward-thinking leaders and stakeholders at a global level and contribution to Singapore's position as hub for responsible financial services innovation."
The USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC) stablecoins are both issued by Circle. After USD Tether (USDT), USDC is the second-largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization.
At the time of publication, the market capitalization of USDT was $83 billion, while that of USDC was $28 billion. It ranks as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in actuality. Additionally, Circle is the creator of the EUROC stablecoin, which at the time of publication had a market valuation of $52 million.
Singapore is a significant crypto hub in Asia
After Crypto.com, Circle is the second cryptocurrency company to obtain an MPI license in Singapore this month. For the purpose of establishing capital and reserve requirements for issuers, the MAS published stablecoin rules last year. Additionally, they want to forbid users from participating in activities like lending and staking, which let anyone lock cryptocurrency in exchange for interest.
According to research published in March by the Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve, 44% of Singaporeans own at least 10% of cryptocurrency, and 46% of them spend up to $1,000 each month on it.
30% of Singaporeans want greater consumer protection and regulation, while 45% see price volatility as a deterrent to investing in cryptocurrencies.
43% of Singaporeans now possess cryptocurrency, up from 40% in 2022, and 77% of investors have two or more distinct crypto assets. At 54%, an increase of 10% from the previous year, diversifying portfolios is now the main motivation for cryptocurrency investment.
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