Singapore seems to top the rankings in several crypto surveys, thus establishing itself as a crypto hub. But just how is the Bitcoin situation over here? I write this for @chungkingexpress who asked me this question before as well as @Bitcoin_Bootcamp who spent time researching on the Bitcoin situation in Germany (#396409)
Our narrative: speculative asset Not just Bitcoin, our central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), discourages investing in cryptocurrencies in general as they are viewed as speculative assets. Whether it is merely reflecting the sentiments of the general public or actively dissuading Singaporeans from dabbling in crypto to maintain its stronghold on currency depends on you.
I do think that most Singaporeans who buy Bitcoin do so with the expectation that it will pump and yield big bucks in the future. Hence, our discussions have been centred on taking note of Bitcoin’s price volatility and diversification and making sure that we invest 5-10% of our portfolio value in crypto. I have never heard of The Bitcoin Standard - the idea that Bitcoin frees you from all institutional control and empowers you to take ownership of your finances - until I came here. Thank goodness I did.
Because Bitcoin is viewed with skepticism and suspicion, the MAS has come up with a few power moves. Firstly, all BTC ATMs were prohibited. Now I don’t necessarily want to buy my sats from an overpriced machine, but I think that the removal of such ATMs serves to deter my countrymen from getting to know Bitcoin and its benefits. We are a country which bans things deemed harmful to us (like cannabis), so I’m sure other Singaporeans will take their cue as such.
Also, we are not allowed to invest in the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETFs because of their perceived volatility.
Nonetheless, because we are a country which is pragmatic about making money, the MAS does allow banks to offer Bitcoin to their Rich clients. For example, In September 2022, DBS, Singapore’s largest bank allowed about 100,000 of its rich clients with investable assets of at least USD$246k to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether and XRP on its Digital Exchange. So, if you have deep pockets, you are more than welcome to tread the treacherous waters of Bitcoin.
Real-world adoption Do I feel stifled by my country’s interference in our personal investing choices? Here’s the funny thing. Because Singapore positions itself as a crypto hub, things are still moving on the Bitcoin front.
On January 23 this year, a MAS-approved crypto payment firm Triple-A allowed its decision to collaborate with a bills payment platform called AXS. This partnership will allow Singaporeans to pay for a wide range bills, fines, taxes and student fees in Bitcoin! I guess the MAS has done its due diligence and decided that Triple-A won’t collapse and take our money along with it, lol.
I would have never expected this to happen in my lifetime, so honestly I’m floored. It seems that if I’m strategic enough, I could acquire the Bitcoin Standard one day.
On the retail front, some enterprising businesses are accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. We are represented on the Coinmap. But as you can see from this article (https://chaindebrief.com/buying-with-bitcoin-heres-8-stores-that-accept-cryptocurrency-payments/), most stores that accept Bitcoin are lifestyle and luxury shops that cater to the relatively more affluent Singaporeans. Nothing about your neighbourhood cafe accepting Bit on in exchange for a tiramisu cake. That may be because the Lightning Network has yet to take root here.
It’s my sincere hope that with AXS accepting Bitcoin, more shops and merchants will do likewise. You know, monkey see monkey do.
Will just like to end this that this is my personal take on the Bitcoin situation in my country. Just my lens. Just my two sats’ worth
I too have friends at various countries, working in fintechs or traditional sector. However none of them has shown to me that they could ever be interested in Bitcoin and co. I think that adoption of crypto is happening everywhere but nobody wanna open his cards right now due to regulatory concerns. Recently many Chinese people have taken route to Hong Kong for investing in crypto. China even allows a forex exchange upto $10000 as far as I know. Most Chinese people are using that quota to purchase crypto offshore.
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Well it could be that they are more interested in ETH instead. A crypto survey conducted in Singapore a few years ago revealed ETH to be Singaporeans’ favourite crypto muahaha
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218 sats \ 1 reply \ @OT 28 Jan
I have a friend at work from Singapore. He seems to have a good understanding of savings and leveraging debt. For some reason he just isn't interested in bitcoin. Maybe because its not a permission led system. IDK just guessing. By the way he loves property.
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I burst out laughing after reading your comment. Yes flipping properties to create generational wealth is still a viable strategy in Singapore. Haha. But I’m just too lazy to follow this path. I rather post here to get petty sats!
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28 sats \ 1 reply \ @wingalt 28 Jan
From the outside Singapore is kind of weird. Being pro-business they claim being a crypto-hub which is a nice way to call total shitcoinerie with so many bad actors from the last cycle being from there. Like the accredited investor laws, only letting rich people get into the space is another way to give them access to the most rewarding investments. The removal of the bitcoin ATM was the icing on the cake in a country where the poorest of the poorest line up for hours to play the national lottery. Very little chance for them to win any money but it doesn't seem to be a problem for the government to take all of it, dollar cost averaging into bitcoin would have done them so much better but go figure it is apparently too risky
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Okay to be fair to Singapore Pools (our lottery organisation), they do donate quite a bit to charitable organisations here
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Dear @cryotosensei, thank you for sending some sats my way with that post. I've been offline for over a week. I went skiing in Austria. It was the most wonderful experience for inner peace :)
I highly recommend skiing to everyone.
I was starting out with my second part of the Bitcoin and Germany story, expect also a share incoming :)
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Thanks for tagging me for a zap split!
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