Ever since Elon Musk poured over a billion into Bitcoin, interest in cryptocurrency investments has skyrocketed.
Bitcoin, dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies like Trumpcoin (yes, this is real), have been included in investors’ portfolios lately.
To buy and sell these cryptocurrencies, you need a crypto exchange platform, of course.
And if you chose Binance.sg, you’ll soon need to withdraw all your assets.
Binance.sg to Close by Feb 2022
Binance.sg will wind down operations and close by 13 Feb next year, it announced today (13 Dec).
This comes after the operator of Binance.sg – Binance Asia Service – withdrew its application to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to run a regulated cryptocurrency exchange here.
As a result, all registrations, cryptocurrency, and currency deposits and trading on Binance.sg will be closed with immediate effect.
In making the decision, Binance explained that it took into account strategic, commercial, and developmental considerations globally.
“We always put our users first, so our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly. Our immediate priority is to help our users in Singapore transition their holdings to other wallets or other third-party services,” said Binance.sg CEO Richard Teng.
The closure means that all users of Binance’s platform must close all their open positions and withdraw their Singapore dollar and cryptocurrency assets by 13 Feb next year.
It said it would now refocus its operations toward blockchain technology.
Ordered by MAS to Stop Payment Services
Founded in 2017 in China by entrepreneur Changpeng Zhao, Binance has yet to set up a global headquarters.
There were rumours that Singapore would be an ideal destination, but this now seems unlikely given the latest development.
A few months ago, MAS ordered Binance to stop providing payment services in Singapore and soliciting business from residents here.
Binance is a separate entity from Binance.sg, and operates another cryptocurrency exchange called Binance.com.
At the time, MAS said that Binance Asia Services’ licence application to operate Binance.sg was under review, though Binance said that this had “no direct impact” on Binance.sg services.
MAS also placed Binance.com on its Investor Alert List to warn consumers in Singapore that the company is not regulated or licensed to provide payment services.
Just a month earlier, Malaysia ordered Binance to disable Binance.com and its apps in the country. It, too, had placed Binance, along with three other Binance entities, on its own investor alert list.
Binance has faced scrutiny from regulators in other countries as well, including the US, Italy, Thailand, and Britain.
