Ravi Menon (head of Monetary Authority of Singapore) insists that this position is “synergistic” but says price speculation is the root of all the problems in the crypto world. Ravi Menon stated that Singapore’s central bank is keen to foster a digital asset economy and limit crypto speculation.
Menon stressed that this stance was not contradictory in his opening remarks at the Green Shoots Seminar on Monday. Green Shoots sessions provide an opportunity to announce new products and policies for the financial services community.
After a number high-profile crypto firms linked to Singapore – such as Three Arrows Capital, Vauld – collapsed earlier in the year, the MAS and other regulators have intensified their efforts to crack down on the crypto space locally.
Menon reiterated that the MAS is particularly looking to strengthen protections of retail crypto investors in country – something Menon highlighted during his Monday speech.
Menon says that while the digital asset ecosystem uses Blockchain, distributed ledger technology, and tokenization to allow for “anything worth being represented in digital form and stored and exchanged on an immutable ledger that keeps a record of all transactions”, cryptocurrencies are only “heavily speculated upon” and their prices “have no relationship with any underlying economic values.
Menon stated that cryptocurrencies had taken over the distributed ledger, and this is what has caused the problems in the crypto world.
Instead, the MAS is promoting digital assets. This includes tokenization of financial assets such as cash and bonds, real assets such as artwork, and intangible items such carbon credits and computing resource.
I hope this presentation has shown that MAS’s facilitative position on digital asset activities is not contradictory to its restrictive stance regarding cryptocurrency speculation. Menon stated that it is a holistic and synergistic approach to developing Singapore as a responsible and innovative global digital asset hub.
