- From mining to transactions, industry players have been winding down their operations in China and are in quest of safe havens.
- Singaporean government is of course more than enchanted, striving to proactively poach each of soon-to-be exiled crypto entrepreneurs.
- As the tired and politically unstable communist nation stares at an imminent collapse in the eye, its rival nations are making the most out of China’s miseries.
The people’s bank of China (PBOC) in July announced a ban on the circulation of cryptocurrencies in China, sending a sprawling crypto market into a tizzy. After the announcement, the Chinese government barred financial institutions, internet firms and payment companies from facilitating the trading of digital currencies across the nation.
It also restricted foreign investors from providing their services to investors in China. Resultantly, Chinese crypto miners, blockchain investors and crypto startups are running helter-skelter in a bid to remain afloat. Interestingly, in the process, Singapore is emerging as a global crypto stronghold.
Chinese crypto entrepreneurs fly the coop:
From mining to transactions, industry players have been winding down their operations in China and are in quest of safe havens. If media reports are to be believed, a lot of them have been eying Singapore for their next home. This has, in return, provided the Southeast Asian Island nation with a golden opportunity to cement itself as a global financial hub of crypto-related activities.
“Any firm with influence in the industry has already had a presence in Singapore,” Yan Suji, founder of Mask Network was quoted as saying by Protocol. “People in the industry either already have plans to relocate or have secured a visa so that they can leave whenever it’s no longer safe to stay in China … there’s no exception.”
Singapore government lures soon-to-be-exiled Chinese crypto players:
The Singaporean government is of course more than enchanted, striving to proactively poach each of soon-to-be exiled crypto exchanges, wallet apps, crypto market data publications, decentralized mining services and investors. A former Prime Minister of Singapore is unusually busy these days hosting meetings with top Chinese crypto traders under the banner of the Singapore nonprofit ‘Business China’.
In August, he hosted a similar meeting where Chinese crypto heavyweights, including Binance founder Zhao Chengpeng, imToken founder He Bin, and Bitmain and Matrixport founder Wu Jihan were among the attendees.
Investors exalted at the booming crypto market:
Yan argued that Singaporean investors are also highly optimistic about the future of crypto markets in their country. And now, the influx of exiled Chinese crypto entrepreneurs has reinforced their optimism.
Yan detailed their optimism by saying that “Of course, they would not say it out loud. But all Singaporean state-owned enterprises and investors came to hear us speak, and former government officials wined and dined with us … It’s a very Chinese way of business dealing. You just get it right away.”
China’s chaotic business environment v/s safe havens in Singapore:
Singapore has remained extremely cautious in dealing with the crypto markets, in contrast to China’s heavy-handedness. The CCP’s ongoing crackdown in China has made it unlawful to trade in cryptocurrencies, further stirring instability in the already-volatile Chinese markets. All in all, doing business in China has been made a herculean task by the CCP, prompting droves of Chinese businesses to look for better alternatives.
While many of the manufacturing and servicing activities are now shifting to Southeast Asian nations and countries like India and Japan; crypto markets are swiftly making their way to Singapore and the North American market.
Read More: Chinese citizens are investing money in Japan through cryptocurrency
Why Singapore?
On the flip side, Singapore is the fourth largest financial centre in the world. Its business environment is way better than China, allowing room for smooth exchanges and building mutually beneficial partnerships. Equally noteworthy is the way how Singapore government has been sending welcoming signals to crypto businesses making their way out of chaos at home.
Singapore’s welcoming stance has yielded exciting results. By early August, about 170 companies had applied for a MAS digital payment token (DPT) license. Prominent Chinese exchanges including Binance and Okcoin were among the applicants, according to Cailianshe, a Chinese online securities publication.
Singapore’s wide strides in the crypto space after China’s sweeping blanket ban on crypto activities mirror to boost in India’s foreign direct investments and a jaw-dropping economic boom after China’s crackdown on its private capital holders. As a tired and politically unstable China stares at an imminent collapse in the eye, its rival nations are making the most out of China’s miseries.
