Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty Says US Need to Learn from Singapore

Ripple Labs’ Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Stuart Alderoty has advised the United States to take a leaf out of Singapore’s book and that of other nations that have designed concise and clear regulatory frameworks for their digital asset sector.

US is Scaring Off Crypto Businesses

The Ripple executive thinks that “rational regulations” are far away from the U.S. Based on his argument, the U.S. seems to be more focused on elevating politics over sound policies. He noted that this is not the case in regions like Singapore, the United Kingdom, Europe, and even Dubai where crypto innovation is currently blooming. 

The Ripple CLO voiced his concerns following Ripple’s recent license win in Singapore.

At the beginning of October, the payment firm secured a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This means that Ripple Labs can legally offer digital payment token services within the country. Markedly, this was about two days after American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase received the same license from the Singapore apex bank.

The numerous applications for this kind of licenses makes it obvious that several crypto-based entities are trying to move their businesses outside the U.S. Regulators in America including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are doing so much to frustrate the efforts of these crypto businesses through lawsuits and other crackdown measures.

Full Singapore Embrace

Coinbase and Binance were recently charged for violation of federal securities laws by the SEC in June. In their respective lawsuits, coins like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Decentraland (MANA), Axie Infinity (AXS) and many others, were categorised as unregistered securities. Kraken was equally forced to reach a $30 million settlement with the regulator earlier this year and it subsequently suspended its cryptocurrency staking service for US customers. 

Singapore has really been accommodating towards these crypto-based companies and has gained global recognition for its contribution towards pioneering crypto regulation. It has placed itself as an ideal hub that makes it easier for businesses and financial institutions to utilize the full potential of digital assets in different use cases.

Noteworthy, this several use cases for cryptocurrencies cuts across cross-border payments, crypto liquidity, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).