Binance payment services in Singapore

Binance declared that it intends to seek authorization to provide payment services in Singapore on Thursday, illustrating another effort by the crypto exchange to function in the crypto-friendly city-state.

The unit launched in 2021 and was recently converted to Ceffu from Binance Custody.

Late last year, US crypto exchange Coinbase and DBS Vickers – a broker operated by Singapore’s bank DBS – received similar approval to operate payment services in the country.

Binance has faced big challenges in Singapore before. Its subsidiary Binance Asia Services, withdrew its local license application in December 2021 “for no reason beyond strategic, commercial, and development considerations.

See more: Colombia reaffirms commitment to open banking and open finance development

Cryptocurrency-based donations helping disaster relief efforts in Turkey and Syria

Cryptocurrencies facilitate quick and unencumbered donations during crises, as recently seen with earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.

Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis firm, estimates that approximately $5.9 million in cryptocurrency donations have been made to provide aid to Turkey and Syria after they were struck by damaging earthquakes in February.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance, Bitfinex, KuCoin, and OKX, have contributed over $9 million to the Humanitarian Relief Campaign organized by the Turkish Ministry of Interior, the Turkish Red Crescent, Save the Children, and Project Hope in order to aid those affected by the earthquake.

Cointelegraph contacted Chainalysis to discuss the methodology used to monitor crypto donations supporting disaster relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Chainalysis’ research director stated that the company combines human expertise acquired by its personnel and its exclusive crypto services to trace and monitor asset transfers.

According to Ruppel, blockchain functionality also enhances repeat giving. In 2021, Save the Children received several Ethereum donations from non-functional token (NFT) sales, some of which encoded future donations with the smart contract functionality of specific NFTs.

Ruppel also highlighted tax incentives for donating crypto to charities in the United States, which led to a spike in donations at the end of the financial year.

Source: Finance Brokerage