Binance Singapore halts licensing push amid investment in Hg Exchange

Binance Asia Services (BAS), the Singapore-based Binance entity, is set to cease its licensing efforts in the country, the crypto exchange service announced on Monday.

Today’s news confirms previous speculation that the company might withdraw its license application while seeking a new global headquarters. BAS had been exempted from holding a license under the country’s Payment Services Act while the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reviewed its application.

Tweeting on Monday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao clarified that Binance’s investment in the MAS-regulated Hg Exchange rendered its previous licensing application “somewhat redundant.”

Apart from discontinuing its plans to obtain regulatory approval, BAS also announced that it will begin a phased shuttering of its services in the country to be concluded on February 13, 2022.

As part of the phased shuttering process, BAS says it has stopped new registrations and users without identity verification will see their accounts suspended with immediate effect.

Binance Singapore users with completed know your customer (KYC) verification will still be able to trade on the platform until January 12, 2022. The platform advised such users to use the time to begin withdrawing their assets.

According to Monday’s announcement, all crypto trading services on Binance Singapore will end on January 13. Withdrawals will still be possible until the final phase of the shutdown process slated for February 13, 2022.

Users who fail to withdraw their assets by the final shutdown date will have to contact BAS's customer service team. According to the announcement, late withdrawals will draw a 5% maintenance fee per month as well as a one-time 20% administrative levy.

In September, Binance’s global crypto trading platform Binance.com stopped offering services to users in Singapore due to regulatory issues.

The crypto exchange giant has come under scrutiny from financial regulators in a range of different countries in 2021. The added scrutiny has led to the platform discontinuing some of its services in several jurisdictions around the world.