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Coinbase obtains Singapore’s Major Payment Institutions license

The Major Payment Institution license from Singapore’s central bank allows the exchange to expand its digital payment token services in the Lion City.

From the Forkast crypto archive

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 09: In this photo illustration, a flipped version of the Coinbase logo is reflected in a mobile phone screen on November 09, 2021 in London, England. The cryptocurrency exchange platform is to release its quarterly earnings today. (Photo illustration by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Sunday that it has received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from Singapore’s central bank, enabling the exchange to expand its digital payment token services in the country for institutional and retail investors.

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Fast Facts  

  • Singapore’s MPI license permits institutions to offer payment services without adherence to the standard transaction volume. Typically, providers are constrained by a SG$3 million (US$2.2 million) limit for monthly transactions per service, and SG$6 million for multiple services, with a daily outstanding e-money cap of SG$5 million, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
  • “The newly acquired license is not only a validation of Coinbase’s operations but also represents a promise and responsibility to the growing crypto and Web3 community in Singapore,” the exchange said in a blog post on Sunday.
  • Coinbase, a Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange, got regulatory approval to offer perpetual futures trading from the Bermuda Monetary Authority last Thursday. The company acquired an equity stake in Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, at the end of August.
  • Coinbase shares (COIN) rose 5.55% to US$79.25 during pre-market trading on Monday, as of 05:25 p.m. in Hong Kong.

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