新加坡從零售加密行業撤退 - 為競爭對手開路

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Singapore Retreat from Retail Crypto Sector Opens Way for Rivals

Suvashree Ghosh and Haslinda Amin

Fri, October 28, 2022 at 12:06 p.m.

(Bloomberg) -- Asia may be heading for a reordering of sorts in cryptocurrency markets, with Hong Kong moving to legalize retail trading of digital tokens just as Singapore looks to impose fresh restrictions on consumers.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Singapore’s central bank chief Ravi Menon had a clear message for other financial centers looking to draw retail crypto trading away with more relaxed rules: We won’t stand in your way.

“We don’t set ourselves out to compete with other jurisdictions, especially on regulation,” said Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. “We have to do what is right for us, what is necessary to contain the risks. And the risks are primarily harm to retail investors.”

Hong Kong, having fallen behind Singapore in crypto in past years, is pivoting toward a friendlier regulatory regime as part of a recently stated goal of becoming a top crypto hub. Japan is taking steps to make it easier to list tokens, partially reversing a conservative stance that was blamed for driving crypto startups away. Australia is becoming a regional home for listings of exchange-traded products linked to digital assets.

Singapore’s evolving vision on the kind of regional digital-asset center it prefers to be is as much an indication of the perils of letting mom-and-pop investors dabble in volatile virtual coins as an opening for other jurisdictions to gain ground.

The city-state was buffeted by blowups amid this year’s crypto rout, such as at Three Arrows Capital hedge fund and crypto lender Hodlnaut. An index of top tokens is down 58% so far in 2022, leaving many investors nursing losses.

“I think our latest proposals would be among the strictest in the world with respect to retail access to cryptocurrencies,” Menon said. “And we think that’s necessary.”

He acknowledged that some retail-focused crypto companies might move to other jurisdictions, saying “we wish them good luck.”

Crucial Decisions

Both Singapore and Hong Kong are hosting financial-technology conferences next week -- events that will feature high-profile crypto executives like Binance’s founder Changpeng Zhao and FTX’s chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried. Busan, the coastal South Korean city that aspires to become a digital-asset hub, is wrapping up a three-day conference on Saturday.

Hong Kong and Singapore’s diverging approaches to retail crypto trading leave exchange executives facing some potentially crucial decisions. Coinbase Global Inc. and Crypto.com are among global exchange operators that this year secured Singapore permits. There are now only 16 permit holders out of nearly 200 applicants.

“Singapore is getting a bit uncommercial for crypto exchanges by being over cautious on retail participation,” said Adrian Przelozny, chief executive officer of Sydney-based Independent Reserve. “Any decision to choosing a jurisdiction to do business is guided by two principles -- if it will earn profit for me and do I trust that the rules won’t change in that jurisdiction. It is hard to have confidence to invest if rules keep changing.”

Independent Reserve last year received a Major Payment Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, allowing it to operate as a virtual asset service provider.

Retail Curbs

The MAS on Wednesday unveiled proposals to restrict retail participation in digital assets, including banning small investors from borrowing to fund coin purchases. The consultation paper from the central bank also proposed barring companies from using tokens deposited by retail investors for lending or staking to generate yield.

The proposed restrictions don’t apply to high-net-worth investors.

Menon said Singapore still wants to be a crypto hub, but one that promotes areas of digital assets with “use cases” and tokenization -- the process of using blockchain technology to securitize various assets.

“We accept that cryptocurrencies have a place in the larger digital ecosystem because they are the tokens native to the blockchain that powers much of this activity,” he said. “They need to have an expression in the formal financial sector.”

Translation

（彭博社） - 亞洲可能正在走向加密貨幣市場的重新排位，正當新加坡希望對數字代幣消費者施加新的限制，而香港則正在將數字代幣的零售交易合法化。

新加坡央行行長 Ravi Menon 在接受彭博電視台採訪時, 向其他希望以更寬鬆的規則吸引零售加密貨幣交易的金融中心傳達了一個明確的信息：我們不會妨礙你。

新加坡金融管理局董事總經理 Menon 說: “我們不打算與其他司法管轄區競爭，尤其是在監管方面”; “我們必須做適合我們的事情，做必要的事情來控制風險。風險主要是對散戶投資者的傷害。”

香港在過去幾年的加密貨幣領域落後於新加坡，正在轉向更友好的監管制度，這是最近宣布的成為頂級加密貨幣中心目標的一部分。日本正在採取措施讓代幣上市變得更容易，部分扭轉了保守的立場，這種立場被指責為將加密貨幣初創公司趕走。澳大利亞正在成為與數字資產相關的交易所交易產品上市的區域性所在地。

新加坡選擇成為某一類區域性數字資產中心的願景不斷變化，顯示了讓缺乏經驗的投資者去涉足不穩定的虛擬貨幣有風險，也顯示了新加坡在其他域領展有機會開展。

在今年的加密貨幣暴跌中，這個城市國家受到了衝擊，例如Three Arrows Capital對沖基金和加密貨幣貸方 Hodlnaut。到 2022 年為止，頂級代幣指數下跌了 58%，讓許多投資者蒙受損失。

Menon說: “我認為我們的最新提案將是世界上對加密貨幣零售最嚴格的提案之一”; “而且我們認為這是必要的。”

他承認，一些專注於零售的加密公司可能會搬到其他司法管轄區，並表示 “我們祝他們好運。”

關鍵決定

新加坡和香港都將在下週舉辦金融技術會議 - 這些活動將邀請Binance創始人Changpeng Zhao 和 FTX 首席執行官 Sam Bankman-Fried 等知名加密貨幣高管參加。渴望成為數字資產中心的韓國沿海城市釜山將於週六結束為期三天的會議。

香港和新加坡對零售加密交易的不同處理方向, 使交易所高管面臨一些潛在的關鍵決定。 Coinbase Global Inc. 和 Crypto.com 是今年獲得新加坡許可證的全球交易所運營商之一。現在近 200 名申請人中只有 16 名持證人。

總部位於悉尼的 Independent Reserve 首席執行官 Adrian Przelozny 表示： “由於對零售參與過於謹慎，新加坡對加密貨幣交易所有點非商業化”; “去任何選擇一個司法管轄區開展業務的決定都遵循兩個原則 - 如果它能為我賺取利潤，以及我是否相信該司法管轄區的規則不會改變。如果規則不斷變化，就很難有信心投資。”

Independent Reserve 去年從新加坡金融管理局獲得了主要支付機構許可證，允許其作為虛擬資產服務提供商去運營。

抑制小额客戶

新加坡金融管理局週三公佈了限制零售業參與數字資產的提議，包括禁止小投資者藉借貸以購買代幣。央行的諮詢文件還提議禁止公司使用散戶投資者存放的代幣進行借貸或賭押以產生收益。

擬議的限制不適用於高淨值投資者。

Menon 表示，新加坡仍然希望成為一個加密中心，但提倡 “用例” 和代幣化來促進數字資產領域 - 一個使用區塊鏈技術將各種資產證券化的過程。

他說: “我們接受加密貨幣在更大的數字生態系統中佔有一席之地，因為它們是原生於區塊鏈的代幣，為大部分活動提供動力”; “它們需要在正規金融領域中作出表達。”

              So, Asia may be heading for  changing cryptocurrency markets, with Hong Kong moving to legalize retail trading of digital tokens while Singapore looks to impose fresh restrictions on consumers.

Note:

1."Mom-and-pop" investors usually refers to inexperienced investors who minimally invest in the stock market. Despite limited capital commitments, mom-and-pop investors often count on significant returns on their trades, in order to supplement their income. (https://www.investopedia.com/terms)

2. The term high-net-worth individual  refers to a financial industry classification denoting an individual with liquid assets above a certain figure. People who fall into this category generally have at least $1 million in liquid financial assets. (https://www.investopedia.com/terms)