SINGAPORE - Despite the recent rout in cryptocurrencies that has raised questions about its legitimacy, crypto and blockchain proponents continue to see a future and its potential to improve finance.
Crypto services provider Luno on Tuesday (June 21) expanded its wallet offerings to include the USDC stablecoin and added two new cryptocurrencies to its Singapore trading platform.
Luno users who own USDC, a stablecoin pegged one-for-one to the US dollar, will be able to store them in a USDC savings wallet that offers up to 7.6 per cent yield.
Users in Singapore will also be able to buy, sell and store Link and Uni tokens on the Luno app and website from Tuesday. The two new tokens will take Luno's existing crypto offerings to eight.
"We hope to provide customers with a wider variety of cryptocurrencies to meet their financial goals through investing in digital assets," said Ms Sherry Goh, Luno's country manager for Singapore.
Luno, whose services are open to retail investors here, received in-principle approval in April from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate fully regulated cryptocurrency services. This allows it to provide digital payment token services under the major payment institution licence here.
Luno's move to expand comes amid a period of high volatility for cryptocurrencies, fuelled by tightening monetary policies in some of the world's largest economies to tame inflation.
On June 16, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points, marking an end to decades of cheap money and triggering an outflow of capital from risky assets such as crypto.
Bitcoin, the world's largest token, has lost more than a third of its value in the past month. It traded just above US$21,000 ($29,000) on Tuesday after recovering from a two-year low of US$17,800 on June 19.
The price swings in crypto have since triggered the collapse of the TerraUST stablecoin and Luna, the token to which it was pegged.
It also forced cryptocurrency lenders such as Celsius and Babel Finance to suspend withdrawals and liquidate holdings. The crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital also confirmed heavy losses as a result of the volatility.
Still, crypto insiders like Luno say they are staying the course, while other blockchain firms have also announced developments.
ChainUp Group, a Singapore-headquartered blockchain technology services provider, on Tuesday announced a partnership with licensed asset and wealth management firm Bedrock Trust, which is also based here.
In a statement, the two firms said the move represents a first step towards providing clients with digital asset management services as demand rises.
"While it will take some time for cryptocurrency to stabilise, there is still potential for this asset class in the long run as crypto adoption is expected to continue to increase moving forward," Ms Goh said.
That view is shared by crypto's larger and savvier investors.
"Despite the current bear market, we have seen heavy institutional investing in crypto with many financial institutions like DBS and Goldman Sachs as well as traditional exchanges like the Singapore Exchange involved in this space," said Mr Michael Conn, founder of crypto investment firm Zilliqa Capital.
He added that the current downturn is accelerating regulatory oversight in crypto and flushing out the industry's weakest links, leaving better managed projects and more thoughtful growth.
