SBI Digital Markets Pte Ltd has been granted a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license in Singapore. The company received the license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) after receiving approval in principle back in May.
Under the license, the subsidiary of Japan-based SBI Group will conduct regulated corporate finance and custodial services activities with the digital asset ecosystem for both public and private investors. Upon receiving the license, SBI Digital Markets plans to create its proprietary digital asset securities platform to help operators transition from traditional finance to Web 3.
“The granting of the license and endorsement from SBI Group signals to financial institutions in the region that we are an institutional digital asset issuance platform of choice,” said Winston Quek, CEO of SBI Digital Markets. “Singapore’s financial regulatory regime is among the most respected in the world for its rigor and transparency, so MAS’s license signals to our potential partners the standards by which we will operate.”
The company’s recent milestone is part of a renewed effort to explore new frontiers following the dire macroeconomic impact of the past six months. The company was forced to halt its mining activities in Russia due to falling prices and tougher sanctions from Western powers.
Across the Atlantic, a branch of the company received the green light from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to offer OTC derivatives products for digital assets with physical settlement.
As a subsidiary of the financial conglomerate SBI Group, analysts expect the company to cooperate with its sister companies. The company, after receiving a policy statement, announced that it will be working with Asia Digital Exchange, a Singapore-based digital asset exchange, and the Swiss SIX Group.
Singapore’s regulator is keeping the industry on a leash
The MAS serves as the country’s central bank and is tasked with promoting economic growth. In order to fulfill its legal obligations, MAS has the power to grant and revoke licenses to companies operating in the digital assets industry.
In recent months, the regulator has taken a tougher stance on the entire industry to quell speculation, which its chief executive Ravi Menon says is “the source of the crypto world’s troubles.” The MAS says it will achieve this by “adding friction” to digital assets by banning their use and stifling merchants’ access to credit facilities.
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