Singapore Tightens Crypto Trading Regulations to Protect Retail Investors

Singapore’s Monetary Authority is introducing new measures to curb retail cryptocurrency trading, with a focus on protecting customers from the risks of speculative assets. These measures, announced on November 23, include prohibiting crypto businesses from providing incentives like free tokens for signing up, as these could impair retail customers’ judgment. Despite most respondents opposing these restrictions in a consultation, the Authority argued that such incentives could entice people to trade without fully understanding the risks.

Additionally, businesses will no longer be able to offer margin or leverage transactions to customers, and accepting local credit cards for crypto transactions will also be banned. This is to prevent easy access to debt financing for retail customers. These rules will gradually come into effect starting mid-2024.

This move follows Singapore’s recent introduction of regulations for stablecoin issuers tied to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies. The regulations cover aspects like stability, capital, redemption, and audit result disclosures. Only issuers meeting all criteria will be recognized as “MAS-regulated stablecoins.”

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