Ripple can now offer payments services in Singapore

Ripple Labs has received in-principle central bank approval in Singapore to begin offering crypto products and services under a regulated banner throughout the city-state.

The licensure for its local subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC, would allow it to scale client’s use of its crypto-enabled On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service, the San Francisco firm said in a statement.

Ripple Labs’ provisional license allows it to start offering payments services such as account issuance, cross-border money transfer services and digital payment token services while it undergoes further regulatory checks.

ODL, which runs on the Ripple distributed ledger, aims to boost efficiency of international transfers by using XRP as an intermediary asset. Company materials suggest it operates across some 40 payments markets, including France, Sweden and Africa.

Ripple Labs reported selling $2.9 billion XRP last quarter to customers for use on its payments network. It spent $2.6 billion buying the token on secondary markets over that time.

The firm, as of the end of March, had sold $14 billion XRP directly to ODL customers since it was sued by the SEC in Dec. 2020. The case is still ongoing.

Ripple Labs acquired $11 billion XRP from secondary markets across the same period. XRP is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap behind USDC and binance coin (BNB).

While Singapore has a reputation for a tough stance on crypto, CEO Brad Garlinghouse said Singapore was a strategic choice based on clearer operating guidelines for budding digital asset firms.

“MAS continues to be a global leader in establishing clear rules of the road to recognise the innovation and real-world utility of digital assets, and its benefits to the global financial system,” he said.

London-headquartered crypto exchange Blockchain.com scored its own provisional MAS license last October. Singapore’s own Crypto.com received its full license earlier this month, about one year after it received provisional approval.

Expansion and licensure abroad from US-based crypto companies have been considered responses to a toxic regulatory climate at home. 

Coinbase recently flagged intent to explore opportunities in the European market, while heavy crypto backer a16z earlier this month said that it’s soon opening a UK office — its first international output.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 in 4 investment firms assign senior execs to digital assets: Report

Image
One-quarter of asset managers and hedge funds in the US and Europe have recruited senior executives to oversee digital asset strategies, according to a recent report. Based on the findings of a market intelligence firm, an increasing number of investment firms in the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe are appointing senior executives to lead digital asset investment strategies. According to a recent Amberdata report titled 'Digital Assets: Managers' Data Infrastructure Fuel,' 24% of asset management firms have adopted a digital assets strategy, with an extra 13% planning to do so in the next two years. “These roles are being staffed up, with almost a quarter of firms with a senior role dedicated to digital assets, reflecting seriousness about implementation as well as senior management buy-in.” Organizations with a senior role dedicated to dedicated asset strategy implementation. Source: Amberdata The report surveyed 60 investment professionals across the United St
Read more

Bitcoin Price Prediction for Today, December 28: BTC/USD Could Avoid another Downtrend If Closes Above $17k

Image
The Bitcoin price prediction shows that BTC sees a 0.63% decline after trading near the $17,000 resistance level, the first digital asset heads lower. Bitcoin Prediction Statistics Data: Bitcoin price now – $16,593 Bitcoin market cap – $319.5 billion Bitcoin circulating supply – 19.2 million Bitcoin total supply – 19.2 million Bitcoin Coinmarketcap ranking – #1 BTC/USD Long-term Trend: Ranging (Daily Chart) Key levels: Resistance Levels: $21,000, $23,000, $25,000 Support Levels: $14,000, $12,000, $10,000 BTC/USD loses its momentum after trading near the resistance level of $17,000. As of writing, the king coin is down 0.63% on the day at $16,733 below the 9-day and 21-day moving averages. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) may struggle to close above $17,000 and if it does, it should be free to rise well above $18,000 if it moves in the next positive direction. Bitcoin Price Prediction: Bitcoin (BTC) Range-bounds After a slightly positive move above $16,700, the Bitcoin price is
Read more

Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rate by 25bps, Insists ‘US Banking System Is Sound and Resilient’

The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), announced on Wednesday that the central bank would raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points (bps), as was widely expected by the market. This marks the tenth consecutive occasion in which the Fed has raised interest rates since the initial 25bps increase in March 2022. FOMC Announcement Says ‘Additional Policy Firming May Be Appropriate’ At 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the central bank raised the benchmark interest rate citing that economic activity expanded “at a modest pace in the first quarter.” The Fed’s announcement noted that unemployment has been low but “inflation remains elevated.” The FOMC announcement further addressed the issues in the U.S. banking industry and the committee emphasized that the “U.S. banking system is sound and resilient.” The Fed’s unbroken chain of rate hikes is a testament to the bank’s unwavering commitment to getting inflation down. The FOMC’s press release no
Read more