The homegrown platform is the first local non-bank crypto exchange to announce that it has received this in-principal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Coinhako will be regulated under the Payment Services Act (PSA) to operate as a provider for Digital Payment Token (DPT) services in Singapore, it announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The exchange is currently working through the conditions of its in-principle approval with a view towards meeting MAS’ requirements to receive the Major Payment Institution Licence to provide DPT services in Singapore, the announcement said.
«Coinhako recognised very early on that the industry would move towards regulation and the team has worked very hard over the years to ensure that the business is developed in a compliant manner,» Collin Cheong, Coinhako corporate development director, said.
Explosive Growth
Launched in 2014, Coinhako offers both fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto trading services with a digital wallet for retail traders. In the first eight months of 2021, Coinhako saw a 1,000 percent increase in trading volume, compared to the whole of 2020. Currently, it has over 300,000 registered users in Singapore and an average of 150,000 monthly active users.
Last month, Coinhako announced the launch of its institutional and high-net-worth offering, Privé, a digital assets platform to serve the institutional and high-net-worth markets earlier this year. It also recently hosted Singapore’s first large-scale NFT gallery event, Right Click + Save, at Le Freeport which has garnered international attention.
«Coinhako contributes to Singapore’s growth as a crypto hub. Over the next few years, we will broaden our services in Singapore and expand into more regional markets while ensuring that our platform remains a safe and secure platform for our customers. Our vision is to make Coinhako the top crypto trading platform in Singapore and across the region,» Gerry Eng, Coinhako cofounder and CTO, said in the statement.
Regulatory Framework
In August, Australia-headquartered Independent Reserve said it had acquired in-principal approval from MAS, and DBS Vickers – the brokerage arm of DBS – became the second player to get the approval.
The PSA came into effect in January 2020 and it mandated all DPT serve providers in Singapore to be registered and licensed, giving supervisory powers to the MAS over such entities. Thus far, all DPT service providers have been operating under an exemption that will remain in force until license applications are approved, rejected or withdrawn.
