170 applications for cryptocurrency licenses were submitted last year

The remaining 70 candidates seeking a licence to conduct bitcoin services in the Asian financial centre include Singapore subsidiaries of Coinbase Global Holdings Inc. and Binance Holdings ltd.

According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s website, the number of exempt entities awaiting processing is currently less than half of the 170 applications received last year.

Singapore tries to find a balance

Singapore is attempting to strike a balance by bringing in sufficient enterprises to assist in the city-transformation state’s becoming a major player in cryptocurrency-related activities while maintaining high regulatory requirements.

Because of the hazards, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Singapore Monetary Authority, has been cautious and has frowned upon many retail-focused traders.

According to data provided Thursday by DBS Group Holdings ltd, the largest lender in Southeast Asia, local business is on the rise, and its brokerage division is among the top three permitted by the Singapore Monetary Authority.

In August, DBS Digital Exchange, the bank’s trading platform for cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens, went live 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Following that, over the next two months, the bank posted trade volumes that were 40% higher than the previous eight months.