Upbit, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for its local branch, Upbit Singapore, from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Upbit Singapore has prepared to broaden its portfolio of services within the nation after obtaining the MPI license. The exchange becomes one of fifteen institutions in Singapore that also possess MPI status. Coinbase, Revolut, Ripple, and Blockchain.com are among the others.
The MAS issued its preliminary in-principal sanction in October 2023, whereas the organization commenced operations in Singapore in 2018. Raks Sondhi, central operating officer of Upbit Singapore, told Cointelegraph at the time that the organization’s Singaporean market concentration would be on “the institutional segment and infrastructure projects.”
Institutions need an MPI license to offer services related to cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies to Singaporeans. Licensed organizations are authorized to perform payment services without incurring monthly and single transaction limits of 6 million Singaporean dollars ($4.4 million) and $3 million ($2.2 million), respectively.
The MAS established digital payment token service provider regulations in November 2023 to deter speculative cryptocurrency investments. Service providers must refrain from providing financing, margin, leveraged transactions, or any other incentive to engage in cryptocurrency trading.
Banks will not include customers’ cryptocurrency holdings in their net worth calculations nor permit customers to use credit cards to purchase cryptocurrencies.