The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted GSR, a cryptocurrency market maker and liquidity provider, a licence as a Major Payment Institution.
Currently, GSR is in possession of Singapore’s Digital Payment Token Service licence, allowing businesses to purchase and trade “digital payment tokens,” or cryptocurrency as defined by the government, with the same licence that exchanges use. In September, MAS initially granted the market maker in-principle clearance.
Since liquidity providers and market makers do not deal directly with customers, they are typically not licenced entities. Singapore has extended the reach of its licencing programme to cover cross-border money transfers and custodial services.
Andreas Koukorinis, a former executive at JP Morgan, was named as the trading company’s new head of trade earlier this year. The news that GSR had received a licence was initially reported by Bloomberg.