Digital Currency Group-linked crypto firm Luno to exit Singapore, withdraw licence application

Cryptocurrency trading app Luno said that the move came as part of a regular evaluation of the firm’s global strategy and presence. PHOTO: REUTERS

SINGAPORE – Cryptocurrency trading app Luno, whose parent company is crypto venture capitalist Digital Currency Group (DCG), will exit the Singapore market in June and withdraw its licence application, making it the second crypto firm in Singapore to do so.

The first crypto firm to withdraw its licence application is lender Hodlnaut, in August 2022.

In a blog post on Monday, Luno said its services will no longer be available in Singapore from June 20, and that users should withdraw their assets from their Luno wallets by June 19.

The move came as part of a regular evaluation of the firm’s global strategy and presence, Luno said.

“As a result of this decision, we have also informed the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) of our intention to withdraw our licence application. Our operations in other regions are not impacted by this decision.”

The London-based firm said it had supported thousands of investors in Singapore since 2016 and that this is not a decision it is taking lightly.

The firm was granted in-principle approval under the Payment Services Act to provide digital payment token services in Singapore on April 27, 2022.

At that time, the firm said: “This milestone marks Luno as the first global retail-focused cryptocurrency platform in Singapore to obtain in-principle approval from the MAS.”

Singapore regulators have made clear that they frown upon crypto speculation among retail investors given that prices are highly volatile.

In September 2020, Luno was acquired by DCG, which first invested in the platform in 2014 in a seed round.

DCG, which counts Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and SoftBank as investors, was hit badly by the fall of Temasek-backed exchange FTX.

FTX was once the world’s third-largest centralised crypto exchange and is now bankrupt. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to multiple fraud charges.

DCG’s reach is vast, with bankrupt lender Genesis and digital asset manager Grayscale Investments among the investments under its empire. Grayscale offers the world’s largest crypto fund.

The group is the parent of crypto-mining service provider Foundry Digital and news publication CoinDesk.

It also has stakes in Nasdaq-listed exchange Coinbase Global, payments network Ripple and crypto wallets Circle and Ledger.

As at end Oct 2022, MAS had received a total of 213 applications to provide digital payment token services in Singapore.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.