Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek exits crypto altogether amid regulatory crackdown News ▸ Singapore ▸ Investments
Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek exits crypto altogether amid regulatory crackdown
The investment chief conceded that Temasek might invest in crypto if the regulatory framework becomes comfortable, but the fund is still nursing its wounds from its FTX bet gone sour.
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Updated: Jul. 11, 2023 at 6:27 pm UTC
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Singapore sovereign fund Temasek said it is not planning to invest in crypto companies due to the current regulatory environment, its Chief investment officer, Rohit Sipahimalani, told CNBC in a July 11 report.
“There’s a lot of regulatory uncertainty in this environment. And I do think that it will be very difficult for us to make another investment and exchange in the middle of all this regulatory uncertainty.”
Sipahimalani believes that losses are unavoidable with early-stage investment, so the firm has a 6% cap on such investments in its portfolio.
The investment chief conceded that Temasek might invest in crypto if the regulatory framework becomes comfortable and it spots the right opportunity. However, the investment fund does not plan to invest in crypto exchanges.
The current regulatory environment for crypto is relatively tense, especially in the U.S., where the financial regulator has filed charges against several crypto-related firms. However, other jurisdictions, including the U.K., Europe, and Hong Kong, are making giant strides with their crypto regulations.
On FTX
Last year, Temasek wrote off its $275 million investment in FTX. At the time, the investment firm stated that it conducted an extensive due diligence process on FTX.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after the exchange was discovered insolvent, and $8.7 billion in customer-deposited assets were misappropriated.
Singapore’s Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also described the loss as damaging the country’s reputation.
Speaking about the investment, Sipahimalani said:
“The FTX investment was a part of our early-stage investment strategy, where we invest in new disruptive technologies to see what’s around the corner, so that we can bring that to our portfolio companies and benefit within our ecosystem.”
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