FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dash plunge into water in this illustration taken, May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
SINGAPORE: Blockchain platform Paxos Trust Co LLC plans to add at least 130 hires in Singapore over the next three years after its unit in the city-state received a central bank licence to offer digital-token payment services.
“Singapore will be our hub for growth outside the United States,” co-founder Rich Teo said in an interview, adding as many as 180 people could be brought on over the 36-month period. The current headcount in Singapore is 20 and 350 globally, he said.
Paxos operates its own stablecoin USDP as well as the BUSD stablecoin with binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Another stablecoin issuer, Circle Internet Financial, also said yesterday that it received a permit from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The city-state is seeking to become a hub for productive uses of blockchain technology while clamping down on crypto trading by retail investors. Some 18 companies have virtual-asset licences in Singapore out of about 200 applicants.
The island nation’s shifting regulatory approach follows a US$2 trillion (RM9.5 trillion) rout in digital assets over roughly the past year that triggered blowups at crypto outfits. Competition for investment is also heating up after Hong Kong pivoted to a friendlier digital-asset regime that’s set to legalise retail trading.
Both Singapore and Hong Kong are hosting financial technology conferences this week in an effort to burnish their credentials as regional financial centres.
Paxos’ plan to add staff contrasts with deep recent layoffs in the digital-asset sector, which is in the midst of a so-called crypto winter.
Some of the latest cuts loom at Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd, the crypto financial services firm founded by billionaire Michael Novogratz. The company is exploring eliminating as much as 20% of its workforce. — Bloomberg
