GSR markets granted 'major payment institution' license in Singapore: Bloomberg

Crypto market maker GSR’s Singapore subsidiary has obtained the major payment institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, according to Bloomberg.

The Singapore entity, named GSR Markets, said it is the first of its kind to obtain the full MPI license from Singapore authorities, the report said. Currently, 19 firms engaging in cryptocurrency services or digital payment token services have the MPI license from Singapore, including Paxos, Blockchain.com, Circle and Coinbase.

The approval effectively allows GSR Markets to pursue spot over-the-counter and market making services in Singapore, Bloomberg said. In September last year, GSR Markets received the in-principle approval for the MPI license, where the company said it was grateful to the MAS for its “constructive oversight.”

GSR did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comments.

“It’s important to note the institutionalization of a crypto market maker,” Kim Hyoung-joong, President of the Korea Fintech Society, told The Block, stating that Asian regulators haven’t been so fond of crypto market makers. “A ‘pump n’ dump’ type of market making has so far been prevalent [in crypto], but when the regulation kicks in, the market will see more traditional ways of market making which will improve its perception.”

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Kim added that this regulatory approval in Singapore may become a positive precedent for regulatory developments in other Asian countries.

Singapore has recently been revising its rules for digital asset service providers in an aim to  grow the city-state as the crypto center of Asia. Hong Kong and Japan have also been pushing or amending rules in an aim to set a clear regulatory framework for crypto companies.

Earlier this week, the MAS announced that it is expanding its scope of regulated payment services to include custodial services for digital payment tokens (DPT), facilitation of the transmission of DPTs, and facilitation of cross-border money transfers between countries “even where moneys are not accepted or received in Singapore.”