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The Singapore entity for Upbit, South Korea\u2019s largest exchange by volume, has been given in-principal approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in Singapore.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 16, Upbit Singapore said<\/a> the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) gave the in-principle license nod, allowing it to continue with digital payment token services to institutional investors while awaiting its full license.<\/p>\n Upbit Singapore founder and CEO Alex Kim said in a statement that the firm was founded in 2018 but called the recent approval a strategic milestone for it to deepen its local presence.<\/p>\n Azman Hamid, the firm\u2019s compliance chief, said the approval reflects its commitment to building its businesses in Singapore. \u201cWe will contribute to further establish Singapore as the leading hub for the next generation of financial businesses,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Su Zhu\u2019s $36M Singapore mansion transformed into eco-farm post-3AC collapse<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n A potential full approval for Upbit would see the exchange join a total of 15 crypto firms with full MPI digital payment token serve licenses from MAS.<\/p>\n In October alone, the Singaporean entities for Coinbase, Ripple and Sygnum Bank all received license approvals from MAS \u2014 pushing the number<\/a> of MAS-licensed digital payment token service firms to 15.<\/p>\n On Oct. 2,\u00a0 Coinbase received full approval<\/a> for its MPI license, with crypto trading firm GSR scoring in-principal approval<\/a> for its MPI the same day. Swiss crypto bank subsidiary Sygnum Singapore scored its full MPI license<\/a> a day later and Ripple received its full MPI<\/a> on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n