Singapore is planning to roll out new rules that will make it harder for retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies at a time when they seem “irrationally oblivious” to risks, the central bank’s head said.
Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said on Monday that despite the warnings and measures, some research shows that consumers are increasingly trading cryptocurrencies globally, drawn in by the price perspective. accentuated.
“They seem to be irrationally oblivious to the risks of cryptocurrency trading,” he said. “Adding friction” in accessing cryptocurrencies is something the MAS contemplates, he said.
Singapore’s welcoming approach has helped the financial hub attract digital asset services-related companies from China, India and elsewhere in recent years, making it a major industry hub in Asia.
But the recent crisis of some global cryptocurrency companies in Singapore, many of them not subject to the regulator’s guidelines on consumer protection, has raised fears of tighter regulation.
MAS will have a public consultation on its proposals by October, Menon said.
“MAS’ facilitating stance on digital asset activities and restrictive stance on cryptocurrency speculation are not contradictory,” Menon said.
About 180 cryptocurrency companies have already applied for cryptocurrency payments license to the MAS in 2020, but Singapore has only delivered around two dozen licenses so far.
Source: CNN Brasil
