After severe restrictions on offerings, Binance customers in Singapore will no longer be able to access spot trading of crypto and fiat deposit services. They also won’t be able to purchase crypto through liquid swap or fiat channels. All restrictions take effect on October 26.
The biggest crypto exchange in the world posted on its website:
“As Binance constantly evaluates its product and service offerings to remain compliant with local regulations, we will cease the following products and offerings in Singapore on Friday, 2021-09-10 04:00 AM UTC (12:00 PM UTC+8): SGD trading pairs, SGD payment options, removal of the app from Singapore iOs and Google Play stores.”
Binance recommends users affected terminate all related trades, redeem tokens and withdraw fiat currency by that date.
Binance in violation of Singapore’s laws?
The move was motivated by a recent announcement by Singapore’s central bank, according to which the exchange could be in violation of the country’s Payment Services Act. This prompted the crypto exchange to eliminate Singapore dollar payment options and trading pairs.
According to Binance, the exchange has been trying to address regulator concerns proactively. They are waiting for an outcome of the review of their application to do business in the Asian country. They add:
“Our aim is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets. Binance welcomes developments to our industry’s regulatory framework as they pose opportunities for the market players to have greater collaboration with the regulators. We are committed to working constructively in policy-making that seeks to benefit every user.”
In related news, it emerged that large volume traders and not retail investors were behind the dynamic growth of the Binance Smart Chain, a report by blockchain data firm Nansen showed. Stablecoin trade values worth a minimum of $1 million accounted for the vast majority of stablecoin volume back in April, when PancakeSwap was highly active. They accounted for about 35% of total stablecoin trading volume in August.
Public institutions investing in crypto and traders who made more than $100K in profit by mining and providing liquidity in DeFi protocols are also showing rising interest in Binance Smart Chain. More than 7% of large investment funds dabbled in Ethereum and BSC. Almost half of wallets executing multiple DEX trades in a one-time, but highly profitable deal were in Ethereum and in BSC. These wallets are known as Flash Boys.
