Binance affiliate says will withdraw Singapore licence application

Binance's Singapore unit was one of well over 100 cryptocurrency companies to apply for a license to operate in Singapore and had been allowed do business while its license request was being processed

The Singapore affiliate of Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Monday it will withdraw its local licence application and wind down its digital payment token business in the broadly crypto-friendly city-state.

The company, which has come under growing scrutiny globally, did not give a reason for its decision beyond "strategic, commercial and developmental" considerations and said it would refocus the local unit's operations on becoming a blockchain innovation hub.
 

Governments and financial watchdogs around the world have intensified scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry this year, posing a challenge to exchanges that have thrived in a mostly unregulated