Tokyo-based financial services giant SBI Holdings announced a joint investment in Coinhako, Singapore’s first licensed crypto exchange approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The investment in Coinhako was made through a fund jointly set up by SBI and the Switzerland-based Sygnum Bank, namely the SBI-Sygnum-Azimut Digital Asset Opportunity (DAO) Fund note.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, a MAS spokesperson highlighted the importance of obtaining license approvals for crypto companies:
“MAS’s regulatory approach under the Payment Services Act aims to facilitate innovation while ensuring that adequate controls are in place to address key risks such as money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Coinhako became the first crypto asset exchange from Singapore, which has basically received approval from MAS to carry out Digital Payment Token (DPT) services, the same license application that Binance withdrew on December 13th. In this regard, the MAS spokesperson told Cointelegraph:
“Applicants can withdraw their applications if they see fit, and those covered by the exemption will have to stop providing regulated payment services. Binance Asia Services has presented MAS with a plan to end its regulated payment services in an orderly fashion. “
With the fund infusion from SBI and an already established international network, Coinhako plans to “expand our business to other countries in Southeast Asia while we are based in Singapore”. According to SBI, the fund will be managed jointly by both parties involved, with an emphasis on financial market infrastructure and distributed ledger technology.
Related: Singapore is suspending Bitget’s license for exchanging K-Pop coins
The Monetary Authority of Singapore suspended Bitget’s license after the Digital Asset Platform listed a K-Pop-related cryptocurrency, Army Coin (ARMY).
Source: Facebook screenshot
As reported by Cointelegraph, ARMY’s listing and advertising without permission is said to have violated the boyband’s intellectual property rights. On the offensive, the crypto exchange claimed it had licenses in other jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada and the United States, it said:
“We are currently investigating the legal violations in this case, including the violation of the portrait rights of our artists by the cryptocurrency without permission or discussion with the agency. We will take legal action against all violations and violations. “
