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Singapore financial watchdog’s chairman questions if regulating crypto legitimizes speculation
The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam said regulating the crypto industry would give credibility to speculation and it may be better to leave it unregulated.
2 min read
Updated: Aug. 6, 2023 at 2:04 am UTC
Robin from Singapore / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia. Remixed by CryptoSlate
Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Tharman Shanmugaratnam, spoke at the WEF23 and stated a controversial take on crypto regulations and questioned if regulating crypto could legitimize speculation, VulcanPost reported.
Shanmugaratnam said:
“I think whether it’s crypto or traditional finance, you have to regulate for things like money laundering — that’s very clear.
But beyond that, if we’re thinking about regulating crypto the same way we regulate banks or insurance companies, I think we have to take a step back and ask a basic philosophical question: does that legitimize something that is inherently, purely speculative, and in fact slightly crazy?”
Instead, Shanmugaratnam argued that lawmakers could steer clear from the crypto sphere and make it really clear that the whole space is unregulated and investors have to invest on their own risk.
Regulation might become unavoidable
Shanmugaratnam also acknowledged that this is only possible if crypto companies don’t offer services typical to traditional finance institutions. He stated:
“If crypto companies would like to do things that traditional finance is doing, you apply exactly the same regulations to them (regarding liquidity, reserves, etc.), under one regulatory system.”
Singapore on crypto
Singapore’s pro-crypto attitude changed after the Singaporean-based 3AC collapsed. After 3AC’s bankruptcy, MAS publicly stated its discomfort with the potential crypto sphere carries for malicious activities and has taken measures to limit crypto’s freedom within the country.
In October 2022, the country proposed a new bill to regulate cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. The bill accepted crypto assets as “inherently speculative and risky” and suggested taking measures accordingly.
In November 2022, the MAS ruled that all banks in Singapore must hold $125 of capital against every $100 exposure to risky crypto assets, which includes Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). While trying to limit the spread of crypto, the country has also been attempting to utilize blockchain as a technology and reap its benefits.
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Author 
Zeynep Geylan
Zeynep is an academic who turned to crypto in 2018. Originating in social sciences, she is especially interested in the social impact of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and strongly believes in their transmuting power.
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