Ripple has been fully licensed to operate in Singapore

Cryptocurrency company Ripple said on Wednesday that it has obtained a major payments institution license in Singapore, a strategic step towards strengthening its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new development comes less than four months after the Monetary Authority of Singapore granted initial in-principle approval in June. With a full license, Ripple will continue to offer regulated cryptocurrency payment services in Singapore.

“More than 90% of Ripple’s business is located outside the US, and Singapore – and largely the Asia-Pacific region – is one of its fastest growing regions,” the company said.

Ripple said it will continue to prioritize the region’s adoption of its cryptocurrency payment services.

“The headcount in the Singapore office has doubled in the last year because our business in the Asia-Pacific region has really exploded,” Monica Leung, president of Ripple, told CNBC in an interview last month.

Singapore has led cryptocurrency regulation in the region. The country Payment Services Law – which regulates payment services and the provision of cryptocurrency services to the public – has been in force since January 2020.

The city-state has also intensified scrutiny of cryptocurrency companies. I have instructed crypto providers to do so Maintaining customer assets securely Under legal credit before the end of 2023. It is also… These companies are restricted from facilitating lending Or staking the assets of their individual clients.

“Since establishing Singapore as our Asia-Pacific headquarters in 2017, the country has played a pivotal role in Ripple’s global business. We have recruited exceptional talent and local leadership…and we plan to continue to grow our presence in a progressive jurisdiction like Singapore,” Brad Garlinghouse Ripple’s CEO said in a statement.

“Under MAS’s leadership, Singapore has evolved into one of the leading centers for fintech and digital assets, striking a balance between innovation, consumer protection and responsible growth,” Garlinghouse said.

This comment contrasts with Ripple’s situation in the United States, where it and Coinbase are embroiled in lawsuits before the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC indicted Ripple and its founders in 2020, alleging that they illegally sold its native cryptocurrency XRP without first registering it with the SEC. But in July, a landmark ruling ruled that a token was not necessarily a security in itself.

Coinbase, Ripple and other cryptocurrency companies have criticized the United States for a lack of clarity on cryptocurrency rules and threatened to leave the country in response to the SEC’s crackdown.

Coinbase announced On Monday it obtained a major payment institution license in Singapore, after Obtain initial approval About a year ago. Ripple and Coinbase join more than a dozen companies licensed to provide crypto services in Singapore.