Binance acquires 18 per cent stake in Singapore-based exchange
Crypto exchange Binance has announced plans to purchase an 18 per cent stake in Hg, a Singaporean exchange.
The Hg Exchange is a private securities exchange built on the Zilliqa blockchain to facilitate trading and listing of digital as well as non-digital assets. Binance did not disclose funding for the deal nor did it give a timeline for when the deal is expected to complete.
“Crypto and traditional financial offerings continue to converge. Through this investment, we seek to work with HGX in enhancing offerings of products and services supported by blockchain technology,” said Binance Singapore chief executive Richard Teng, who was previously the chairman at HGX before being appointed as the boss of Binance Singapore in August 2021.
The deal gives Binance a foothold in Singapore at a time when it is facing scrutiny from regulators worldwide. In September, The Monetary Authority of Singapore warned customers that Binance.com could be in breach of local laws and ordered the embattled exchange to stop providing payment services to the city-state’s residents.
“In Singapore, we continue to work closely with key government agencies to support the growth of the blockchain ecosystem and development of requisite local talent needed,” Teng added.
Binance has also come up against resistance from regulators in the UK. In June the FCA issued a warning that Binance was operating without proper permissions and later said it was unable to supervise the exchange because it refused to disclose basic details about its operations.
In the months since, Binance has pivoted towards a more proactive approach towards regulation. The world’s largest crypto exchange is engaging more actively with regulators, has released a manifesto for worldwide digital asset regulation.
Purchasing a regulated exchange could be a further step towards pacifying regulators in East Asia.
Read more: Embattled crypto exchange Binance revives plans for a UK launch