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There are a lot of banks over in Singapore that are closing the accounts of companies and people due to ties in the Bitcoin business. Many Bitcoin businesses and other cryptocurrency businesses are reporting that the banks are force-closing accounts. More than 10 companies have come out to report the bank account closures within the last few weeks. For people in Singapore, this is very bad news because Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasing in popularity, and becoming more of a regular currency.
Banks in Singapore Closing Accounts of Bitcoin Businesses
Anson Zeall, who is in charge of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry association in Singapore talked about the bank account closures. The cryptocurrency association in Singapore is called ACCESS, and Zeall said that the reports of these bank account closures are true. What is more interesting is that Zeall said that the banks have not explained why the closures of the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency businesses are happening. Zeall went onto say that the authorities in Singapore need to make a statement and take a stance about this issue.
Furthermore, Zeall said that it is important for those in leadership positions in Singapore to come out and show leadership. Zeall wants a resolution to this issue that is acceptable and fair to all parties involved in the matter. If you are expecting an easy and quick resolution to this matter though, support might not be coming anytime soon.
Central Bank of Singapore Not Backing Bitcoin Businesses
What is really bad about the bank account closures of the Bitcoin businesses in Singapore is that it appears the Central Bank is not that concerned with the issue. The central bank of Singapore is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which is also known as MAS. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that it will not and does not interfere with the decisions made by the banks individually. Specifically, The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that it was not responsible for the commercial decision making of the banks. Each bank is responsible for making protocols and ensuring that the bank is complying with the customer due-diligence laws and fraud protection regulations.
One provider of cryptocurrency in Singapore already announced that it had a bank account closed for dealing with the cryptocurrency. CoinHako, which is the cryptocurrency provider based in Singapore wrote a blog post talking about the bank account closure. According to the blog post, the bank account was from DBS, and CoinHako blamed regulations and there being a gray area with the blockchain.
It takes quite a few weeks for a new bank account to be opened in Singapore, which delays the process of both Singapore dollar withdrawals and deposits. Until the bank account has been opened up, the exchange had said it would not be able to process any of the withdrawals or deposits. This is all coming on the heels of The Monetary Authority of Singapore releasing guidelines on cryptocurrency.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has ruled that those digital tokens, which are distinguished from the cryptocurrency itself, can now be labeled as securities. Another statement was put out after that which then went into the details and possible risk associated with investing in the initial coin offerings. Initial Coin Offerings, which are also known as ICOs, are becoming increasingly popular in places like Singapore. The central bank over in Singapore does seem to be enthusiastic about the potential and possibilities with the digital currency and the technology behind it.
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