The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed heads at the BIS Innovation Hub’s centers in Singapore and Switzerland. In a Feb. 19 announcement, the BIS revealed that Andrew McCormack — who currently serves as chief information officer at payment clearing and settlement firm Payments Canada — will now be the head of the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore. At the same time, Morten Bech, Head of Secretariat for the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) at BIS, will manage the Hub Centre in Switzerland. Fostering cross-border cooperation on fintech McCormack gained experience in policy and strategy with …

As not a day goes by without another cryptocurrency partnership, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in South Korea has begun new cooperation. Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has partnered with Singaporean crypto trading platform BitMax to jointly develop new services and products. BitMax’s staff includes former experts from Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Gemini According to a Feb. 17 blog post by Bithumb Official, the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bring their forces together to build new services and strengthen their competitiveness in the global market. As part of the MoU, Bithumb and …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore recently opened its doors to crypto by introducing the Payment Services Act. This policy is intended to regulate cryptocurrency payments and trading using regulations that currently govern traditional fiat payment services as a guideline. Any interested parties must apply for the appropriate licenses in Singapore, including a standard payment institution license, a money-changing license, and a major payment institution license. According to a Feb. 17 Bloomberg report, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges has done just that. Binance, with headquarters in Malta but also offices in cities across Asia, is attempting to expand its …

As crypto continues its foray into the mainstream financial world, more countries are recognizing digital assets legally. Singapore is the latest to join the party. On Jan. 28, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Payment Services Act went into effect, setting up a framework for the regulation of payment-related activities in the country. Given that the bill requires that all crypto businesses get registered and licensed (and partly resembles the nature of 5AMDL measures recently enacted in Europe), now seems like the time to have a closer look at Singapore’s regulatory model for crypto and to see what it might …

Capital markets blockchain platform iSTOX has graduated from Singapore's regulatory sandbox and been approved as a recognized market operator and capital markets services licensee. Singapore’s The Business Times confirmed on Feb. 3 that the platform, developed by blockchain infrastructure firm ICHX Tech, is now fully operational and licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank. A regulated digitized securities platform MAS, which also serves as Singapore's financial regulator, launched its FinTech Regulatory Sandbox to encourage local projects to pursue innovative financial products and services within a secure, efficient and low-regulatory pressure environment . ICHX Tech’s iSTOX …

Singapore-based crypto exchange Zebpay reportedly returns to the Indian market more than a year after an Indian Reserve Bank crackdown led to the exchange’s closure in the country. “We're committed to working with the Government of India and regulators to operate within the law and also improve the laws regarding crypto,” Zebpay CEO Rahul Pagidipati said in an email to Cointelegraph, adding: “ZebPay was the pioneer in anti-money laundering and security so we have a lot of data and experience to share. I'm a lawyer, licensed in the Florida (USA) bar, so obviously I'm committed to helping create long-term policy …

Legislation regulating the operations of cryptocurrency firms in Singapore comes into effect today, Jan. 28. The new Payment Services Act will regulate cryptocurrency payments and trading enterprises under some aspects of the regulatory regime that currently governs traditional payment services and require them to hold a license. Crypto payment services must also comply with the Financial Advisers Act, Insurance Act, Securities and Futures Act and the Trust Companies Act. The new rules place crypto services under the oversight of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The regulator announced in a press release published earlier today that the new framework is expected …

The Singapore government, along with an array of the world’s major financial and manufacturing companies, has formed an alliance to promote the adoption of digital technologies in trade and commerce. According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Jan. 22, the government of Singapore, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and 16 other companies including Mastercard, Mitsubishi Corporation, DBS Bank, Tokio Marine and Marubeni Corporation have partnered to speed up the deployment of digital technologies in trade and commerce. Shifting from paper-based systems The new partnership is part of the ICC TradeFlow Alliance. ICC TradeFlow was built by Perlin …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi is launching its first licensed digital asset brokerage, Huobi Brokerage. Huobi, the fifth-largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume as of press time, will now provide brokerage service to its institutional clients, the firm said in a Jan. 21 press release to Cointelegraph. Huobi Brokerage provides simultaneous access to other exchanges and OTC desks via smart order routing Announcing the news at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, the exchange said that Huobi Brokerage is the first product launched under the Global Institutional Business (GIB), an institutional services-focused division established by Huobi in November 2019. …

Singaporean Mark Cheng was recently kidnapped in Thailand and tortured for a $740,000 ransom in Bitcoin (BTC), the South China Morning Post and others report on Jan. 14. After transferring all his available funds of $46,000, he allegedly made a daring escape as his captors prepared to murder him. Cheng was on a business trip to Thailand with associate Kim Lee Yao Wei when a group of masked men grabbed them and put them in a nearby truck, Cheng told Singapore Chinese publication Lianhe Wanbao. Cheng also implicated Thai actor Chano Pemberger as the owner of the pickup truck where …

For the first time since 2013, the U.S. is no longer the top recipient of Bitcoin (BTC) as valued in USD, as Singapore took the lead over the course of 2019. As of Dec. 5, 2019, global users sent BTC valued at $8.58 billion to Singapore in 2019, according to analytics site Crystal Blockchain. Users in Singapore received more dollars via Bitcoin last year than anywhere else in the globe. The U.S. held the top spot from 2014 to 2018 but slipped to 2nd place, receiving $7.46 billion in BTC, per Crystal Blockchain’s data. Seychelles leads the outflow Singapore, however, …

BitBox, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange operated by internet messaging giant Line, announced that it will delist XRP on Jan. 16. Cointelegraph Japan reported BitBox’s decision earlier today. The announcement published on the exchange’s website on Jan. 6 read: “We keep a constant watch on all coins that are being traded on BITBOX. If a coin does not meet our standards based on its performance, reliability, liquidity, or law and regulatory requirements, it will be delisted from our exchange. To protect your assets and interests, we provide sufficient notice before delisting.” The crypto asset in question will be delisted at midnight …