Binance withdraws Singapore cryptocurrency bourse application

Binance Asia Services Ltd, the Singapore affiliate of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly dropped its application to run a bourse in the city-state, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Binance.sg , the fiat-to-crypto trading platform, will wind down operations and close by Feb 13, according to the report, quoting Binance Asia in an emailed statement. Such a move will see the company is ending an effort that started last year in a bid to win approval from Singapore’s authorities.

The company was said to be among some 170 firms that applied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a permit to offer cryptocurrency services.

“We always put our users first, so our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly,” said Richard Teng, chief executive officer of Binance’s Singapore entity was quoted as saying. “I am grateful to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its ongoing assistance to Binance Asia Services and we look forward to future opportunities to work together.”

Binance Asia has taken into account “strategic, commercial and developmental considerations globally” in its decision to withdraw its Singapore application, the company added.

Founded in China in 2017, Binance Holdings Ltd has yet to set up a global base. The company, which is co-founded and headed by the entrepreneur Changpeng Zhao, has incorporated firms in locations where Binance operates.

The withdrawal from the Singapore process is likely to end speculation that the Southeast Asian city-state would become the global headquarters for Binance, Bloomberg reported.

Zhao, a major shareholder of the firm, holds Canadian citizenship and has been based in Singapore for the past two years.

Singapore state investor Temasek’s Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd is an investor in Binance Asia.