Singapore — A Birthplace Of Crypto Projects

Crypto adoption is finally spreading all over the world. Now, when both retail and institutions are jumping on board, the time has come for some countries to lead the way and create their own “crypto hubs”. Singapore is setting out to be such a place. Steps are being taken in the city-state of Singapore to further help develop the crypto market with capital and favorable regulation.

The country becomes a cryptocurrency attraction with numerous promising blockchain starters starting to pop up in the city. There’s no doubt about it, Singapore has found the winning formula. In this article, we will be exploring just what the country does right and where there’s still some room for improvement. So without further adieu, let’s get into it. 

Why Singapore? 

The regulatory approach chosen by Singapore is quite unusual and can be summarized in the words of Ravi Menon, managing director of the central bank the Monetary of Singapore during the Singapore Fintech Festival 2022:

The approach Singapore has chosen to take on crypto can be described as pragmatic. The country has stated its ambitions to become a new crypto hub in Asia. Singapore has ambitions to become a global crypto hub but has in recent years taken steps to crack down on crypto trading. In another statement, Menon claimed: 

It has passed laws for example increasing the quantity of licensing needed to operate with crypto in Singapore and went so far as to ban billiards prompting crypto companies. 

Singapore Crypto Projects

However, considering all the restrictions, Singapore has also encouraged the growth of many startups. Now let’s take a look at the most interesting projects. Maybe you’ve heard about any of them?

Project Ubin

It is a crypto project being built and led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) along with firms in the financial services sector. The project wants to create a system of processing and settlement of payments and securities easier than ever via the blockchain.

Project Ubin can be called an experimental project as it plans to familiarize the MAS and the general Singaporean public with the capabilities of blockchain technology. Currently, payments are all done through institutions that take a long to process them however with Project Ubin all that could change.

VeChain (VET)

VeChain is a well-known blockchain project founded in 2015 to build a trustless ecosystem that businesses can use for efficient data flow. VeChain enables high-speed data transfers tailored for supply chains through their adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Unlike many crypto concepts, VeChain has been adopted by the likes of BMW. 

The project has some of the top researchers from Tsinghua University, Stanford University, MIT, Oxford Mathematical Institute, and City University of Hong Kong and could well be one of the projects that change current reality.

Zilliqa (ZIL)

Ziliqa is a blockchain platform developed by Zilliqa Research that focuses on helping businesses securely scale in an open, blockchain network. The project stands out with its main feature called sharding. Sharding divides the network into smaller shards that help process transactions more quicker. 

Thanks to this feature Zilliqa can process up to 2800 transactions per second on its network, blowing traditional finance payment methods such as PayPal out of the water.

Bluzelle (BLZ)

This project was born in 2014. Bluzelle is a decentralized data platform which gives people an opportunity to completely control and even monetize their data. According to the official website, it’s a blockchain created for GameFi. It aims to deliver a unique experience for games, financial sphere and data storage. 

During an ICO, Bluzelle raised $19.5 mln in 2018. Now the project continues to develop and actively upgrade its ecosystem. 

Conclusion

Singapore has a lot going for itself in terms of crypto. The immense wealth and the tax haven Singapore is known for drawing huge capital to the emerging crypto market. Some of the best crypto startups are based in Singapore and that’s no coincidence, the city is an ideal hub for world-changing innovation.

However, when it comes to cryptocurrency, the Singapore government’s twofold policy leaves us confused. On one side Singapore is attacking so-called “crypto speculation” and on the other supporting blockchain startups that adhere to the rules. For Singapore to fully develop its potential as a global crypto hub more clarity and less ostracizing may be needed. 

Stay tuned to learn more about the cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption — SimpleSwap will make sure to provide you with the freshest updates of the Crypto World!