(Bloomberg) – A major Singapore crypto lobby group has lashed out at the central bank’s proposal to ban crypto firms from lending digital tokens to retail customers, calling such measures “overly restrictive.” said there is.
According to 11-page feedback sent to the Monetary Authority of Singapore late last month and confirmed by Bloomberg News, the Singapore Blockchain Association said such a blanket ban would instead seek unregulated offshore companies. said it could incentivize people to lend out their tokens. .
While the document disagreed in areas such as offering retail incentives, it also bans customers from borrowing to buy crypto tokens or separates customer assets from those of the company. I agree with the suggestions.
Regarding the issue of token lending, the association said that this would allow customers to earn interest. This is one of the attractions of holding a digital payment token. Singapore’s central bank has proposed a series of tougher measures to lock retail customers out of the volatile cryptocurrency market, which would involve companies lending or staking coins to generate yield. and prohibit individuals from borrowing to finance token purchases.
“We will double down on educating consumers about the risks of doing business with unregulated entities, and will take enforcement action against those who engage in regulated activities without the necessary regulatory approval. We are proposing a more deliberate and targeted approach, which includes strengthening,” it said in response to a request for comment on the Bloomberg document.
The October MAS advisory paper comes after a series of high-profile cryptocurrency blowups in city-states, including disgraceful hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and platforms Vauld and Hodlnaut. Since then, the demise of FTX and its entities has highlighted the risks of poor regulation and customer protection as fraud allegations involving billions of dollars in customer funds came to light.
“Although the proposed measures are well-intentioned, if fully implemented they could have unintended consequences, such as moving consumers to unregulated service providers,” Chia said. . The feedback to MAS takes into account the comments of 180 of his attendees at a seminar the association conducted in November, according to the document.
The group also opposed an outright ban on businesses giving incentives to retail customers, saying the proposal was “too harsh”. I suggested a more nuanced approach of allowing gifts not related to financial purchases, such as door gifts at roadshows.
–With help from Andrea Tan.
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