Binance has withdrawn an application for a Singapore crypto permit via a local unit, marking an end to its pursuit to be a licensed bourse in the city-state.
Binance Singapore has withdrawn the application and will shut down its operations in the city-state by February 13, according to a statement from the cryptocurrency giant.
Our decision to close Binance.sg was not taken lightly. Our immediate priority is to help our users in Singapore transition their holdings to other wallets or other third-party services, said Binance Singapore chief executive Richard Teng.
I am grateful to the MAS for its ongoing assistance to Binance Asia Services and we look forward to future opportunities to work together.
Binance is in the midst of selecting a global headquarter and with the latest move, it is likely to drop Singapore out of the running leaving Europe and the Middle East as potential contenders.
Nonetheless, Binance is expected to remain active in the Singapore market with its latest acquisition of an 18 percent stake in private securities bourse HGX.