Paxos, a cryptocurrency trading and custody platform, announced on Thursday that it has received in-principal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a license under the Payment Services Act 2019.
This new MAS license will allow Paxos to offer its digital asset and blockchain products and services to customers based in Singapore. In addition, it will help the blockchain company to support its partners in expanding services in the Asian markets.
“We’re excited to have MAS as our regulator, and with their oversight, we’ll be able to safely accelerate consumer adoption of digital assets globally by powering regulated solutions for the world’s biggest enterprises,” said Rich Teo, Paxos Asia’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Stocking Up Licenses
Based in New York, Paxos has had a Singapore presence since 2012. The company is following a strategy of seeking a regulatory license in strategic jurisdictions to strengthen its services.
Additionally, Paxos highlighted that it has become the first blockchain service provider to gain licenses in New York and Singapore. Indeed, it was among the first crypto companies to attain a license from the New York Department of Financial Services, which is considered one of the toughest crypto licenses to obtain.
Further, the company holds a limited purpose federal trust charter from the US regulator, making it one of the very few crypto banks in the country.
The MAS’ approval process itself is a tough one as the regulator has a track record of turning down most of the applicants applying for the crypto license. Apart from Paxos, only a hand full of firms have been granted this license that includes DBS Bank’s unit and DBS Vickers Securities.
