Binance Asia Services Pte Ltd (幣安亞洲服務), the Singapore affiliate of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has withdrawn its application to run a bourse in the city-state, ending an effort that started last year to win approval from Singaporean authorities.
The fiat-to-crypto trading platform Binance.sg is to wind down operations and close by Feb. 13, Binance Asia said in an e-mailed statement.
The company was among about 170 firms that applied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a permit to provide cryptocurrency services.
Photo: Reuters
The withdrawal from the Singapore process is likely to end speculation that the Southeast Asian city-state would become the global headquarters for Binance, the company cofounded and headed by the entrepreneur Zhao Changpeng (趙長鵬).
“We always put our users first, so our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly,” said Richard Teng (鄧偉政), chief executive officer of Binance’s Singapore entity.
“I am grateful to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its ongoing assistance to Binance Asia Services and we look forward to future opportunities to work together,” he added.
Binance Asia has taken into account “strategic, commercial and developmental considerations globally” in its decision to withdraw its Singapore application, the company said.
Founded in China in 2017, Binance Holdings Ltd (幣安) has not set up a global base yet. Instead, Zhao has incorporated firms in locations where Binance operates.
Zhao, who holds Canadian citizenship and has been based in Singapore for the past two years, has given mixed signals on where he might base his firm, saying places in Europe and the Middle East offered pro-crypto alternatives along with Singapore.
The 44-year-old last month said that he had bought his first-ever home in Dubai to show a commitment to the jurisdiction he described as “very pro-crypto,” along with France.
Binance has also revived plans to register in the UK, Zhao told the Telegraph.
Cryptocurrencies extended declines after Binance’s move. Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital coin, fell as much as 3 percent to about US$48,484. Ether, the second biggest, dropped as much as 4.1 percent.
Binance Asia is to refocus its operations toward blockchain technology, the statement said.
Binance’s withdrawal of its Singapore application also raised questions about the future of Teng, a high-flying former regulator who joined the Singaporean entity in August. The Singaporean previously held roles including chief regulatory officer of Singapore Exchange Ltd, and spent 13 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
All local employees will join the firm’s global operations and continue to contribute to the company, said Hazel Watts, a Binance spokeswoman in Singapore.
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