South Korean Exchange Upbit Gets Initial License in Singapore

Upbit Singapore, the Singapore entity of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has received in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This approval will allow Upbit Singapore to continue providing regulated digital payment token services to institutional investors while it awaits full approval for its MPI license.

Upbit Singapore founder and CEO Alex Kim said in a statement that the firm was founded in 2018 and that the recent approval is a strategic milestone for it to deepen its local presence. Azman Hamid, the firm's compliance chief, added that the approval shows its commitment to building its businesses in Singapore and that it will contribute to further establish Singapore as the leading hub for the next generation of financial businesses.

A potential full approval for Upbit would see the exchange join a total of 15 crypto firms with full MPI digital payment token service licenses from MAS. In October alone, the Singaporean entities for Coinbase, Ripple, and Sygnum Bank all received license approvals from MAS, pushing the number of MAS-licensed digital payment token service firms to 15.