Singapore bans crypto firms from advertising publicly

Singaporean authorities have tightened their regulatory oversight of the crypto industry, with new guidelines prohibiting crypto service providers from promoting their services and products to the public.

Singapore Bans Public Crypto Ads

According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the public should beware of crypto assets. At the same time, digital payment token (DPT) providers can only use their own platforms to advertise their products.

As such, service providers of this nature may only use their websites, applications or social media for promotional purposes. Not only that, but they also need to ensure that their promotional materials highlight the risks that could be involved with investing in the crypto space.

“DPT Service Providers shall not portray DPT trading in a manner that trivializes the high risks of DPT trading, and shall not promote their DPT services in public areas of Singapore or through any other media intended for the general public in Singapore.This includes the placement of any form of advertising or promotional material in public areas such as Singapore public transport, public transportation venues, broadcast media or periodical publications, websites of third parties, social media platforms, public events or roadshows.

Along with banning public crypto advertisements, the regulator also intends to ban crypto ATMs from operating in the country. According to MAS, allowing easy access to these machines may “mislead the public into trading DPT impulsively, disregarding the risks involved in trading DPT.”

This move will undoubtedly affect several crypto firms operating in the country.

Singapore’s strict crypto regulations

This is not the first time that Singapore has publicly maintained a tough stance towards the crypto industry. The Asian country has repeatedly taken measures aimed at stifling the growth of the booming industry in its space.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, was forced out of the country after failing to meet national anti-money laundering regulations.

More than 100 crypto firms nationwide that have filed license applications with the regulator have also had to either withdraw their applications or see them rejected.

Regulators Target Crypto Ads

While regulations surrounding the crypto industry can generally still be unclear, regulators are keen to ensure that crypto advertisements reflect the inherent risks of investing in the space.

The UK’s advertising watchdog, Advertising Standards Authority, banned seven crypto advertisements in December for failing to “illustrate the risk of investing”.

Apart from that, the world’s leading search engine company, Google, and leading social media site, Facebook, lifted their ban on crypto ads last year. However, other tech companies like TikTok still ban crypto ads on its platform.