Breaking: Singapore Regulatory Watchdog Puts Binance.com on Investor Alert List

Binance’s legal woes took a new turn today just when things have started looking to improve for the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s Central Bank as well as the top financial regulator put Binance.com on its Investor Alert List. This list comprises names of companies or organizations that are unregulated and might be perceived as licensed by MAS.

The official website didn’t offer any further detail on the reason behind Binance’s inclusion on the list and just the website’s link was posted. The news also comes just within a week of the appointment of Richard Teng, the former chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Stock Exchange as the CEO of Binance Singapore. There were rumors of positive collaboration between the crypto exchange and state entities.

Interestingly, the local website of the crypto exchange Binance.sg is not on the investor alert list. A Binance spokesperson said that both websites are different and Binance.sg is solely focused on Singapore operations with an independent team. The spokesperson also clarified that Binance Singapore offers no services via Binance.com and explained,

“Binance Singapore has applied for a license with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. We currently operate under the relevant exemption granted by the MAS and are fully committed to working closely with the MAS to comply with all required standards for license approval,”

Binance Singapore has been offered an exemption to operate by the MAS as its license gets processed. As per the Payment Services Act, all crypto exchanges are required to obtain a license before offering their service with few exceptions.

Binance’s Regulatory Woes Extends to September

Binance’s legal trouble began in June when the UK watchdog FCA issued a warning against the crypto exchange for operating without a license and since then nearly a dozen countries have issued similar non-compliance warnings. A few countries such as Thailand have gone ahead with criminal proceedings as well.

The CEO of the crypto exchange has maintained that they are fully committed to working with regulators and be compliant with local regulations in every country it operates. The exchange has also discontinued its crypto derivative offerings across Europe, South Korea, and Hong Kong in light of regulatory concerns.