By
Temitope Olatunji
April 29th, 2024
Crypto startup GSR Markets has bagged the Major Payment License (MPI) In Singapore, a move that depicts growing regulation in the country.
In a bold move towards ensuring regulatory compliance, GSR Markets, a crypto market maker and liquidity provider, has received a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
GSR Markets License Enters Historic Record
As highlighted in a recent Bloomberg report, the Singapore subsidiary of GSR Markets became one of the first firms to receive a full MPI license from Singapore regulators. At the moment, Paxos, Blockchain.com, Circle, and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) are among the 19 companies that currently hold an MPI license in Singapore and provide Bitcoin or digital payment token services.
GSR now holds Singapore’s Digital Payment Token Service license, which allows businesses to buy and sell “digital payment tokens”. Additionally, GSR can now provide spot over-the-counter and market-making services in Singapore.
Confirming the update, GSR Group CEO Jakob Palmstierna, stated, “We are proud to receive the MPI license from MAS, a regulator that promotes sustainable non-inflationary economic growth, and a sound and progressive financial center.”
Notably, GSR had earlier received in-principle approval for the MPI license in October last year. While the company acknowledged the difficulty in gaining access to MAS compliance requirements, it noted at the time that it remained dedicated to receiving full approval.
GSR believes that obtaining the complete license is the best way to realize its goal of using the Singapore office as a rallying point for its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. By all means, the firm hopes to establish a hub that will allow it to invest in entrepreneurs around the region while also promoting the use of Web3 technologies. Earlier this year, GSR named Andreas Koukorinis, a former JPMorgan executive, as its new head of trade.
Market makers like GSR are seeing increased interest as a result of an approximately fourfold increase in Bitcoin since the beginning of 2023. This has sparked a larger resurgence in the crypto market and reinvigorated investor appetite for digital assets.
Why Crypto Firms are Trooping to Singapore
It is worth noting that ordinarily, Liquidity providers and market makers are typically not licensed entities because they do not deal with customers. However, Singapore recently expanded its licensing regime to cover custodial services and cross-border money transactions. MAS announced earlier this week that these procedures would enable it to enforce regulations concerning the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Moreover, Singapore is easing the way financial institutions perform blockchain technology trials. The city-state, which is already well-known as a financial hub, is competing with other major financial hubs like Hong Kong and Japan to entice virtual asset companies.
In an earlier Coinspeaker report, Hong Fang, the President of OKX highlighted that Singapore lures forward thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and a broader market of early tech adopters. His comments come after the firm was granted an MPI license from MAS.