Binance Withdraws Crypto Licensing Efforts From Singapore

• Last year, the company had filed a request to be present on stock exchange market in Singapore, but it has now withdrawn it.
• All Binance Singapore accounts will be closed, and new users will not be allowed to deposit assets on the exchange.
• According to Singapore's Monetary Authority, 100 applications have been withheld or rejected, but four licenses have been granted.

Binance Asia Sevices Ltd. (BAS) has withdrawn its application to run a cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore, capping off an effort that began last year to win Singapore authorities' approval. The company officials said on Monday that they will expel local users by February 13, 2022, and stop offering digital payment token services on 'Binance.sg'.

Even though companies can provide crypto services as long as a license application is still under review, Binance Singapore won't accept new users starting today, and existing users cannot deposit assets on the exchange. Users can still trade cryptocurrency until January 12, 2022, when they will only be able to withdraw crypto and fiat assets to third-party platforms until February 13. After that date, BAS will focus on operating as a technology, research, and development center, shifting its operations toward blockchain technology.

Approximately 170 crypto companies applied for a Digital Payment Token License in Singapore to offer local users digital assets services, and Binance Asia Services (BAS), the exchange's local affiliate, is among them. Some 100 of them retracted their applications or were rejected, and only four have been granted licenses, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Richard Teng, Chief Executive Officer of Binance Singapore, said:

According to the company, Binance Asia decided to withdraw its Singapore application for "strategic, commercial, and developmental reasons." It was founded in China in 2017, but it hasn't set up a global presence. CEO Changpeng Zhao said that places like the Middle East and Europe offer crypto-friendly alternatives to Singapore and said that Binance also plans to register in the U.K.

Zhao tweeted on Monday about Binance Asia's investment in Hg Exchange, which gave it an 18% stake. Cryptocurrencies globally declined after Binance's announcement, with Bitcoin dropping about 3.4% to $48,284 and the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, dropping as much as 4.1%.