June 20 (Cointime) - Gemini is planning to expand its team in Singapore to over 100 employees within the next year, as the company targets the Asia market. The Singapore office will serve as the hub for Gemini's APAC operations, which the company believes will drive the next wave of growth for crypto.

June 19 (Cointime) - Australian cryptocurrency exchange, Independent Reserve, has been granted a license to offer digital payment token services in Singapore as one of the country's Major Payment Institutions. Despite a 90% drop in monthly retail customer acquisition due to restrictions on public advertising by crypto exchanges, the firm plans to double its daily trade volumes and expand its user base by 50% in Singapore by the end of the year. The exchange has shifted its focus to institutional customers, including family offices and accredited investors, who make up about 90% of trading volume in Singapore. Independent Reserve is also considering opening an office in Hong Kong and other Southeast Asian jurisdictions.

The World Blockchain Summit, which had a successful event in Dubai earlier this year, is returning to Singapore on August 2-3, 2023. The summit aims to bring together investors, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs to explore collaboration and investment opportunities in blockchain technology.

TOKEN2049, Asia's leading Web3 and crypto conference, has announced its first batch of high-profile sponsors and speakers for its upcoming event in Singapore. The conference is expected to be the largest of its kind this year, with over 10,000 attendees from 3,500 companies. The event will take place from 13-14 September 2023 at Marina Bay Sands, ahead of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 race weekend. The impressive speaker line-up includes Balaji Srinivasan, Joe Lubin, Mike Novogratz, and other leading industry figureheads.

Singapore's economy contracted in the first quarter, increasing the risk of a recession as external demand weakens and China struggles for a post-COVID lift-off. Despite GDP rising 0.4% on a year-on-year basis, the economy shrank 0.4% on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted basis, leaving the city state at risk of a technical recession in the current quarter. The trade ministry does not expect a technical recession this year but acknowledges that the external demand outlook for the rest of the year has weakened. The central bank is keeping a watching brief on both growth and inflation trends, but is maintaining its current monetary policy.

A new report by researchers from the New York Federal Reserve and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has found that Central bank digital currency (CBDC) systems operating on different types of networks can be used for cross-border and cross-currency payments. The report focused on studying technical issues related to interoperability and atomic settlement, and found that the respective teams were able to conduct cross-border transactions across different distributed ledger (DLT) and hashed timelock contract (HTLC) technology stacks, with near real-time settlement finality. The researchers used simulated CBDCs and hypothetical payments to test their interoperability hypotheses, and found that interoperability could be established across ledgers with different technical designs. The report highlights key opportunities for central bank innovation to play an important role in easing wholesale payment flows globally and improving settlement outcomes.

Coinbase, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its plans to expand its services to customers in Singapore. The move is part of the company's effort to enhance its international presence and adapt to evolving market dynamics while ensuring continued accessibility to users in different regions. Users in Singapore can now purchase USDC with SGD without incurring fees and receive rewards for holding USDC. Coinbase has also introduced staking services for popular cryptocurrencies such as ETH, SOL, ADA, ATOM, and XTZ, allowing users to earn rewards by participating in the staking process. Coinbase's commitment to advancing its international expansion efforts is reflected in the launch of its Global Advisory Council, which aims to assist Coinbase in navigating the dynamic and intricate landscape of the cryptocurrency industry while fostering more robust relationships with strategic stakeholders on a global scale.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is exploring the possibility of relocating its headquarters to countries such as the Bahamas, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe due to the lack of clarity on crypto regulations in the US. To strengthen its global expansion strategy, Coinbase has launched Coinbase International Exchange in the Bahamas to offer derivatives trading.

Coinbase Global, a cryptocurrency exchange operator, is expanding its services in Singapore as part of its efforts to strengthen its international presence. This move is in response to regulatory crackdowns in the US, where the company is based. Coinbase has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate as a major payments institution and has secured a license to operate an international exchange in Bermuda. The company has announced that it is introducing no-fee purchases of USDC for customers using SGD and enabling staking for several cryptocurrencies in Singapore. A survey of 2,000 adults in Singapore found that a quarter of them consider crypto the future of finance, and 32% of them own or used to own crypto.

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