Monetary Authority of Singapore: There is no "crypto sandbox," and a retail access regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies will be implemented starting at the end of the year

ChainCatcher message, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stated that there is no "crypto sandbox." The financial technology regulatory sandbox launched in 2016 supports a wide range of fintech experiments, and so far, none of the companies eligible to enter the sandbox facilitate cryptocurrency payments.

At the same time, MAS stated that it is unclear what Thomas See meant when he said that the Monetary Authority of Singapore allows cryptocurrency companies to use Singapore's FAST interbank payment system. Any individual or company, including cryptocurrency companies, can use FAST as long as they have a bank account. Payments through FAST are made in fiat currency rather than cryptocurrency. Payment transactions between customers and cryptocurrency companies conducted via FAST do not imply that the customer's bank deposits are linked to that company.

Furthermore, the recent malware scam cases referred to by Thomas See in Singapore are unrelated to cryptocurrency. Finally, the Monetary Authority stated that it will gradually implement cryptocurrency regulatory measures for retail users starting at the end of the year, at which point Singapore will have one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the world for managing cryptocurrency retail access.