The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the regulator overseeing the crypto sector, has defended the action it took against crypto exchange Binance and not the collapsed crypto platform FTX. The central bank also warned that cryptocurrencies are “highly volatile and many of them have lost all value.”

Singapore’s Central Bank Clarifies Its Stance on Binance and FTX

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, issued a press release this week “to address some questions and misconceptions that have arisen in the wake of the FTX.com (FTX) debacle.”

The central bank explained: “A first misconception is that it was possible to protect local users who dealt with FTX … MAS cannot do this as FTX is not licensed by MAS and operates offshore.”

The MAS proceeded to justify the action it took against Binance and not FTX. The former was placed on the central bank’s Investor Alert List (IAL) while the latter was not. The regulator clarified:

While both Binance and FTX are not licensed here, there is a clear difference between the two: Binance was actively soliciting users in Singapore while FTX was not.

The MAS ordered Binance to cease providing payment services to Singapore residents in September last year. A few months later, the crypto exchange shut down its exchange services in the city-state.

“Binance in fact went to the extent of offering listings in Singapore dollars and accepted Singapore-specific payment modes such as…