It looks like stablecoins and their issues cannot stay outside the news cycle, with MiCA issuing its stablecoin guidelines and Circle making huge moves in the EU.
It is Paxos’ turn now, as it has secured full regulatory approval from Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
In a press release, it said, “Paxos, the leading regulated blockchain & tokenization infrastructure platform, received full approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its Singapore entity, Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd. to offer digital payment token services as a Major Payments Institution.”
ALSO READ: Circle Becomes First to Receive License in the EU to Issue Stablecoins Under MiCA
The MAS Is one of the stricter financial regulators, and their verification of Paxos’ functioning and controls and their oversight of its operations going forward will ensure robust services for Singaporeans.
Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, said, “Stablecoins issued in accordance with standards set by a regulator like MAS – known for its rigorous regulatory standards – represent a significant step towards democratizing access to commerce and financial services.”
This move makes Singapore the third jurisdiction Paxos is licensed to operate in with full regulatory blessing. The others include New York and the UAE.
The company offers tokens like USDP (Paxos Dollar), PAXG (Paxos Gold), and PYUSD (PayPal USD). The latter is an obvious collaboration with PayPal.
In the UAE, it recently announced the USDL token, also referred to as the Lift Dollar — a yield-earning stablecoin, making holding it a similar experience to receiving interest from the bank.
All of these offerings by Paxos are adequately backed by an equal amount of reserves, matching the number of assets Paxos has in circulation. In Singapore, it will rely on DBS, the biggest bank in the area, to store cash and other instruments that back its stablecoin circulation in the country.
Evy Thuenie, head of digital assets, institutional banking group at DBS, said, “Stablecoin issuers will find that our solutions will help them meet the robust standards regulators and customers expect from them. This partnership further expands DBS’ wide-ranging involvement across the digital asset ecosystem, of which we have been a pioneer and innovator for several years now.”
Paxos’ expansion to global markets represents the demand stablecoins and other asset-referenced tokens have in their ecosystems. Moreover, numerous companies are now focusing on servicing users in countries with robust laws that provide clarity and make compliance easy, unlike the US.
Image: Paxos
