Regulators that over-manage crypto risks will hurt growth: Binance regional head

REGULATORS who pay attention only to managing crypto risks will end up stunting growth, Binance’s regional head for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has warned.

Richard Teng, addressing crypto’s regulatory landscape across Asia in a fireside chat with reporters on Wednesday (Sep 28), said good crypto regulations should look into understanding the risks to better support innovation, but there is “still not enough knowledge of this relationship”.

The global crypto bourse had announced in December 2021 that it was withdrawing its application to be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and that it would wind up its digital exchange in the city state. At the time, Teng was at the tail-end of his 5-month stint as Binance’s chief executive officer in Singapore; he was appointed to his current role shortly after.

Before his time in Binance, he was a corporate finance director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for 13 years and a chief regulatory officer at the Singapore Exchange for close to 8 years. He is also no stranger to the Mena region, having served for 6 years as chief executive officer at Abu Dhabi Global Market, an international financial centre.

When asked by The Business Times how he would assess Singapore’s current attractiveness as a crypto hub, he said that Singapore is looking to “create some friction”, particularly for retail investors, and that Binance would respect its stance.

After Binance pulled out its application for a crypto permit last December, users had until Feb 13 this year to withdraw their crypto from the affected accounts.

Teng said: “I am Singaporean, born and bred here. Singapore is always very strategic. At this point, Singapore is focusing on blockchain applications – not necessarily a lot, and allowing people to have that easy access… Obviously, the view is that (crypto) is still in the early stages. It wants investors to be careful.”

The MAS had said in August that it may introduce customer suitability tests and restrict the use of leverage and credit facilities to reduce consumer harm arising from cryptocurrency trading.

Teng, taking a long pause and looking a little uneasy, added that Binance was nevertheless working with Singapore government agencies and corporate partners on the blockchain applications front. Moderator Manisha Tank was prompted to comment: “That’s quite the reaction.”

Prior to Binance’s announcement of its pullout last December, The Business Times had reported that it was considering doing so as its application to operate here remained in regulatory limbo. Even as smaller operators got the go-ahead, Binance was waiting on the sidelines for months for its local affiliate, backed by Temasek-linked Vertex Ventures, to clinch a permit.

Asked about the bad press and investigations surrounding his company, Teng maintained that those reflect industry-wide issues, but that big companies like Binance tended to be singled out.

“We are the most regulated (crypto) platform … Some of that negative media (coverage) relates to the crypto industry, but being the largest platform, it is easy just to point (Binance) out,” he said..