San Francisco-headquartered crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) has strengthened its Southeast Asian presence by obtaining a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Coinbase's Ambitions for Singapore

Announced today (Monday), the crypto exchange gained the full license after a year of in-principal approval from the regulator of the city-state. Earlier, Coinbase considered entering the country by acquiring a now-bankrupt crypto exchange, Zipmex, but backed out from the deal in mid-2022.

"We've identified Singapore as a vital market for Coinbase," Nana Murugesan, the VP of International and Business Development at Coinbase, and Hassan Ahmed, the Country Director of Singapore at Coinbase, wrote in a joint blog post. "The nation's progressive economic strategies and approach to regulation sync well with our global mission and objectives."

Indeed, the high retail demand for cryptocurrencies in Singapore also pushed many firms to enter the small country, which is also referred to as a gateway to the vast Southeast Asian markets. Coinbase also highlighted a survey, which found that 25 percent of Singaporeans see crypto as the future of finance, and 32 percent either hold or have held cryptocurrencies.

"In response to the region's growing demands and unique market dynamics, we've actively developed and released products tailored specifically for Singapore," two Coinbase executives added.

Indeed, the American exchange has added local funding options to its services in Singapore and integrated SingPass to streamline onboarding processes. Further, the exchange is offering no-fee USDC purchases with SGD.

Expansion Goals of Coinbase

While Coinbase strengthened its Southeast Asian presence, its future in India is in jeopardy. The exchange terminated new signups on its crypto exchange in the country. The exchange also terminated the accounts of Indian users who did not meet its requirements.

However, Coinbase is expanding in several other jurisdictions by obtaining local licenses. It was recently registered as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Spain and holds similar approval in Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

Further, the exchange obtained regulatory approval from Bermuda's financial regulator to enable perpetual futures trading for non-US retail customers. Meanwhile, the exchange is engaged in a legal battle with the securities regulator in the US.