Singapore Will Not Yet Regulate Bitcoin, But Such A Possibility Is Still on The Table

During a conference, Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, explained that the Asian country hasn’t got in its plan to regulate bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market any time soon, informs CCN.

“We’ve taken the approach that the currency itself does not pose the risk that warrants regulation. It is a known fact that cryptocurrencies are quite often abused for illicit financing purposes, so we do want to have AML/CFT controls in place. So those requirements apply to the activity around cryptocurrency, rather than the cryptocurrency itself,” said Menon.

Same thoughts, coming from different parts of the world

Basically, the managing director of MAS has the same idea on the matter as Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank’s President. The Italian economist said that the  ECB is not planning regulatory frameworks for the cryptocurrency market because it still has to mature.

Although Singapore has a clear position regarding the cryptocurrency market and regulations, Ravi Menon added that MAS will be open to changes that occur with Bitcoin and apply the changes if the market demands it in the future. Additionally, MAS and the Singaporean government will provide regulatory frameworks for businesses and investors.

Singapore, to join a select club!

If such a change happens, then Singapore will join Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea on the Bitcoin major markets. At least 68 percent of Bitcoin trades come from Japan, while South Korea is clearly the largest Ether exchange market in the world.

Furthermore, if MAS decides to regulate its Bitcoin market, it will create a domino effect, with the Japanese government implementing a national program for cryptocurrency exchanges. This also means that cryptocurrency exchanges will have the same position as any other financial company in the country. A strong regulation on this issue will likely bring traders from regions like China and Russia, where the Bitcoin market is banned or has an ambiguous status.