Singapore regulator explores DeFi and NFT opportunities

Article Reading Time:
2 minutes.

Monetary managementSingapore (MAS) together with DBS Bank and JPMorgan, as well as the cryptocurrency platform Marketnode, launched Project Guardian to explore the potential of crypto technologies.

The MAS initiative is aimed atexploring possible use cases for tokenized assets and decentralized finance. At the first stage of the project, they promise to test their work on wholesale financial markets, “so as not to damage financial stability.” The project will involve Singapore's largest bank, DBS Bank, the American financial conglomerate JPMorgan Chase and the Marketnode platform for issuing digital assets.

“Practical experiments with tokens and DeFiwill help expand our understanding of the rapidly changing digital asset ecosystem. Based on the findings from Project Guardian, regulatory frameworks for decentralized finance can be developed that will help enhance the benefits of the industry while reducing its risks,” said Sopnendu Mohanty, director of financial technology at MAS.

The regulator declares another goalcooperation - to establish Singapore as a center for the development of the latest technologies, so that the country becomes attractive to companies working with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and also stop the “drain of talent” to other countries.

In March, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit moved its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai. A month later, Three Arrows Capital announced the same intentions.

MAS Managing Director Ravi MenonMenon) said that instead of banning crypto assets, the regulator will apply a regulatory framework to them. Previously, Menon was concerned that cryptocurrencies could be used by criminals for criminal activities, so he advocated the introduction of the most stringent rules for regulating the industry. Last year, Menon criticized cryptocurrencies for their high volatility and susceptibility to “speculative surges.”