Binance CEO Wei Zhou is spreading the news: the exchange has a new Asian outpost in Singapore.
“Our SGD fiat-to-crypto platform has full deposit and withdrawal functionality,” Zhou told Cointelegraph according to reporting this morning. “During this early initiation of Binance Singapore, we encourage our Singaporean community to share feedback and relay any user-specific issues to our customer service team for support.”
In conjunction with a firm called Xfers, Zhou said, Binance is leading an effort to build what the firm calls a “key fiat gateway.”
Sounds neat!
However, as of press time, the exchange only features one pairing: the Singapore Dollar to Bitcoin.
“Three steps are listed for new customers: creating an account with Binance Singapore:” writes Thomas Simms, describing the process for this new medium of exchange. “Linking their Xfers account, and beginning to buy and sell Bitcoin as they wish.”
At Coininsider, Becky Leighton talks about limitations to the current platform, saying the Singapore desk offers only “bare-bones features.”
Leighton also takes aim at the fixed-price policy.
“Binance Singapore is only allowing customers to purchase Bitcoin at a fixed price, rather than the more meaty features that Binance offers,” Leighton writes.
“Binance users have long been accustomed to a choice of a vast array of crypto assets on sale, but the Binance Singapore exchange falls short on that count, despite considerable expectation for its launch,” adds Jon Russell at TechCrunch.
Today’s news is just part of an ongoing saga of progress for this powerful exchange, leaders of which have wrangled with characters like Craig Steven Wright, ruled on best practices, and generally emerged as a leader in global crypto.
Even more is in store. Here’s how writers at The Block Crypto characterized Binance ambitions in another article that broke today:
“Launches in Uganda, Singapore and Jersey are merely the start of the company’s stated plan to have two fiat-to-crypto exchanges on every continent. The exchanges are built on Binance’s technology but formed as a separate legal entity. This year, Binance plans to launch at least one more fiat-to-crypto exchange in Malta. The Block has learned from sources that the next likely launch locations are South Korea, Lichtenstein, Argentina, Russia and Turkey.”
If you are scouring the crypto landscape for clues to create your portfolio strategy, keep an eye on what Zhou and other Binance top brass are revealing – it’s one of the best sources of BTC intel you can find.