The head of Singapore’s Central Bank says that the country doesn’t plan to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins. However, it will remain alert to practices such as money laundering and other such potential risks originating from their use.
In an interview, Ravi Menon, the managing director of Monetary Authority of Singapore said, “As of now I see no basis for wanting to regulate cryptocurrencies.” Instead, the central bank is focusing on looking at the activities surrounding the use of cryptocurrencies and risks they pose. The central bank is looking at such risks which require a regulatory response and will then proceed likewise, Menon added.
Recently, Russian President Putin has called for regulation of the sector, while South Korea and China have banned initial coin offerings. Very few jurisdictions regulate cryptocurrency, and most of them have taken the customized approach as the currency itself doesn’t pose any risk. Menon said that it is well known that cryptocurrencies are often abused for illicit financing purposes. Hence, the country do requires anti-money laundering controls to counter the financing of terrorism and other such risks.
“So, those requirements apply to activity around cryptocurrency rather than the cryptocurrency itself,” Menon concluded.