Ethereum co-founder Tells Why He is Unhappy With Singapore’s Regulatory Approach

Amid the crypto winter of 2022, Singapore’s regulatory authorities have been keeping stricter vigilance over the functioning of the country’s crypto industry. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has slammed the country’s regulator.

During his latest interview with Strait Times, Buterin said that Singapore’s ambition to become a crypto hub may not work due to its skeptical approach towards digital assets. He added:

The city-state’s “willingness to make a distinction between blockchain usage and cryptocurrency is like one of those weird things. The reality is if you don’t have cryptocurrency, blockchains that you’re going to have are just fake and nobody’s going to care about them.”

Amid the collapse of Singapore-based Terra Labs earlier this year, Singapore is putting a greater focus on crypto regulations in the country. To reduce risks from the crypto market’s volatility, Singapore has decided to restrict retail investors’ access to crypto trading.

This includes banning small investors from fund coin purchases as well as restricting them from borrowing and lending activities. Last month, central bank  – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – also proposed a fresh set of regulatory measures. The regulatory authorities in Singapore said that they are ok with having stablecoins.

Crypto Leaders Share Concerns Over Singapore’s Regulations

Vitalik Buterin is not alone to voice his concern about Singapore’s regulatory measures. Earlier this month, Coinbase Global Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said that Singapore’s proposal to restrict retail crypto trading isn’t “compatible” with its desire to become the hub for the Web 3 industry.

While Singapore is increasing int regulatory control on crypto, Hong Kong is back in the game. Hong Kong is looking to freshly itself as the crypto trading hub. If so, we could be witnessing a transition of crypto traders flocking from Singapore to Hong Kong.

Asia’s crypto trading industry is quite popular with countries having crypto-friendly regulations. However, the crypto winter of 2022 has got regulators on their toes.