SINGAPORE – The Singapore arm of US digital asset custodian BitGo is one step closer to offering trading to non-retail investors, pending a full license from regulators.
On January 10, the company announced that it had received in-principle approval for a major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Once fully licensed, the company plans to expand its services in Singapore and allow institutional investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies from its insured cold storage solutions.
Cold storage refers to storing the private keys of your cryptocurrencies offline on your device.
BitGo’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director Lim Ho Beng said Singapore’s regulatory clarity around digital assets and its status as a major innovation hub and gateway to Asia-Pacific will drive expansion into the republic. He said that this is an important factor.
The company was founded in California in 2013 and began trading cryptocurrencies in the United States in 2020.
Mike Belshe, CEO of the company, said MAS’s in-principle approval came shortly after the company received its German license.
“We look forward to expanding our global footprint and providing regulated, safe and reliable solutions to our clients,” he added.
BitGo pioneered multi-signature wallets, or wallets that require multiple keys, and was the first custody company focused on serving institutional customers.
The group secures approximately 20 percent of all on-chain Bitcoin transactions by value and supports more than 700 digital assets within its platform. He also provides security and operational support to his more than 1,500 institutional customers in 50 countries.