BitGo secures major payment license from Singapore’s MAS

California-based digital asset trust and security company BitGo has received a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The company announced on August 8 that its MPI license allows it to offer regulated crypto payment services, including custody and trading, in Singapore.

BitGo is pleased to announce that we have received our Major Payment Institution License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

We are committed to meeting the growing demands of customer needs in Asia through regulated digital payment token services. This includes… pic.twitter.com/4DAgKvLVVD

— BitGo (@BitGo) August 8, 2024

Following approval, BitGo’s Singapore customers will be able to buy and sell crypto from the company’s cold storage solutions. According to BitGo, the services will include access to its liquidity as well as insured cold storage solutions.

BitGo’s acquisition of the MPI license comes just days after HashKey Group’s over-the-counter trading subsidiary received similar approval from the Singapore regulator, and roughly six months after BitGo received first-in-principle approval as an MPI.

The cryptocurrency custodian joins 27 other digital asset companies, including Coinbase and Ripple (XRP), that have received full MPI licenses to offer cryptocurrency services in the city-state.

Singapore has sought to create a strong regulatory framework for crypto, primarily overseen by the MAS, including the enactment of the Payment Services Act in 2019 and rules restricting digital payment providers from promoting their services to the general public.

Crypto ownership in the Asian Minor country is among the highest in the world. According to the latest report from global crypto payment provider Triple-A, more than 24% of Singaporeans own some form of crypto. This puts the Middle Eastern country second only to the United Arab Emirates in terms of crypto ownership, with 25.3% of its citizens owning crypto.

The United States is far behind, with only 15.5% of its population owning digital assets, according to the report. However, unlike Singapore, crypto regulation in the US is still not as clear-cut, and the country’s regulator, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, has been accused of hindering the growth of the sector with its tough stance against crypto.