Binance withdraws application from Singapore, rattles investor sentiment

SINGAPORE: News of Binance's withdrawal of its application from Singapore on December 13 caused a small ripple that dampened investor sentiment towards the emerging global criptocurrency market.

After Binance moved,currencies extended declines. The world's largest digital coin fell as much as 3 per cent to about US $48,484, while Ether, the second biggest coin, dropped as much as 4.1 per cent.

The decision came at a critical time, as Binance is due to announce its global headquarters in a few weeks.

The speculation that Singapore, one of the world's largest criptocurrency exchanges, is in the running due to the move by Binance.

It is too soon to conclude that Binance's withdrawal is a setback. The company is not losing its business in Singapore because of the closing of Singapore's criptocurrency trading platform.

In the financial hub, Binance has made moves to anchor itself.

Recently, Binance invested in Singapore's private securities exchange Hg Exchange HGX, acquiring an 18 per cent stake in the company just two weeks ago.