Crypto Exchange Luno is set to make its re-entry in Singapore as it opened two new bank accounts, which are crucial for its business in the country.
As reported by Bloomberg on Friday, the exchange is set to reopen its services with Singapore dollars within a month after an exile of two years.
The two corporates bank accounts will allow the firm to pay salaries and hold money raised from investors, Vijay Ayyar, Luno’s Asia head, and country manager Sherry Goh confirmed.
However, the accounts will not allow the exchange to hold funds deposited by their clients.
“It’s a good start, but there’s more work to be done,” Goh told the publication. “The bank situation shall be resolved soon because that is core and fundamental to getting crypto exchanges and their business up and running.”
It will use a stored-value facility to handle clients’ funds in the absence of banking services crucial for its operation.
The company did not reveal the names of the local banking partners.
Forcing the company to exile
Luno was forced to shut its business in the city-state in 2017 following the suspension of its bank accounts. Then it moved its base to London and was operating under the regulatory Sandbox of the UK Financial Conduct Authority to test its crypto-based remittance service using British pounds.
Formally known as BitX, the exchange was among several crypto firms whose banking privileges were snatched by their banking partners in the South Asian nation amid concerns over illicit financial activities using digital currency.
Meanwhile, the crypto exchange expanded its presence in Europe and Africa.
Singapore also introduced a new law - the Payment Services Act - to regulate entities offering trading services of digital currencies, which will be enforced next year.
The country recently granted a capital markets services license to Sygnum, a crypto-focused bank, allowing it to offer digital asset investment services to accredited and institutional investors.
