Singapore Minister Says Crypto Not Suitable for Retail Crowd, but Stance Remains Unclear

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has said that cryptocurrencies are not suitable for retail investors, despite their potential to transform finance in the future.

Speaking at the at the opening of the second Asia Tech x Singapore Summit, Heng said that retail investors should “steer clear of cryptocurrencies”, and that the government “cannot emphasise this enough”.

“We must pierce through both the hubris and the veil of suspicion to understand the potentially transformative underlying technologies,” he said, adding that they “remain keen to work with blockchain and digital asset players to encourage innovation, and build up trust in the sector”.

However, a recent instagram post by Singapore’s CPF (Central Provident Fund) Board has listed “NFTs” as a source of investment portfolio diversification, which contradicts the government’s current stance on crypto investing for retail investors.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted licences and in-principle approvals to 11 digital payment token service providers over the past 2 years, including full licenses to Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve, the brokerage arm of local bank DBS – DBS Vickers, as well as crypto payments companies FOMO Pay and Triple A.

Earlier this year, the MAS issued guidelines to restrict the marketing and advertising of digital payment token (DPT) services to retail consumers in Singapore.