United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is expanding operations in Singapore after securing major regulatory approval from the country’s central bank.
Coinbase has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the firm announced on Oct. 1. The new license — coming one year after Coinbase’s initial in-principle approval in Singapore — enables the company to expand its digital payment token services to individuals and institutions in the country.
According to MAS, MPI-licensed firms are authorized to conduct payment services without being subjected to transaction limits of 3 million Singapore dollars ($2.2 million) for any payment service. The approved companies are also free from the 6 million SG$ ($4.4 million) limit of monthly transactions for two or more payment services other than e-money account issuance and money-changing services.
The newly acquired license is “not only a validation of Coinbase’s operations” but also represents a responsibility to the growing crypto and Web3 community in Singapore, the firm said in the announcement.
Coinbase has been actively developing products and services designed specifically for Singapore, launching PayNow and FAST bank transfers in March 2023. Coinbase has also integrated Singapore’s digital identity service, SingPass, to simplify onboarding. Additionally, Coinbase has been collaborating with major local blockchain firms, including Nansen.ai, Blockdaemon and Infura, to expand its products like Base blockchain and wallet-as-a-service.
“From our initial involvement in the Lion City, we’ve identified Singapore as a vital market for Coinbase,” the exchange noted, stressing that more than 30% of Singaporeans were found to be current or past owners of crypto in its recent survey. The announcement added:
“Singapore has naturally become a significant location for this industry. Moreover, Singapore is home to over 700 Web3 companies, making it a pivotal market for the growth of the crypto and Web3 economy.”
Coinbase did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Vienna-based Bitpanda is eyeing Frankfurt or New York for a future listing, with its co-founder warning that London’s IPO market is too illiquid to attract investors.
Nigel Farage has said he would scrap the UK’s human rights law to enable the mass deportation of illegal migrants, as the government reportedly prepares to send more than 100 small boat arrivals back to France.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph ahead of a speech later today, the Reform leader said the Human Rights Act would be ripped up should he become prime minister.
He would also take the country out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international treaties, describing them as “malign influences” which had been “allowed to frustrate deportations”.
Pulling Britain out of the ECHR would make it one of only three European countries not signed up – the others being Russia and Belarus.
The UK’s Human Rights Act, Reform say, would be replaced by a British Bill of Rights. This would only apply to British citizens and those with a legal right to live in the UK.
Small boat arrivals would have no right to claim asylum. They would be housed at old military bases before being deported to their country of origin, or third countries like Rwanda.
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Will Starmer’s migration tough talk deliver?
One in, one out
Sir Keir Starmer, meanwhile, is said to be ready to implement one of his major policies to tackle the small boats crisis within weeks.
According to The Times, the one in, one out migrant deal he signed with France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier this summer will soon see more than 100 people sent back.
The newspaper reported there are dozens of migrants currently in detention, including some arrested over the bank holiday weekend, who could be among the first sent back to France.
In exchange, the UK would be expected to take an equal number of asylum seekers in France with ties to Britain.
Protests have taken place outside hotels used to house asylum seekers over the weekend, and the government is braced for more legal challenges from councils over their use.
Labour have taken a battering in the opinion polls throughout 2025, with Reform consistently in the lead.