Binance Asia Services, Binance’s Singapore arm, acquired 18% in Hg Exchange, a local private securities exchange, CoinTelegraph wrote. On December 7, Binance officially announced the post-money stake acquisition. HGX is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

According to Binance Singapore CEO Richard Teng, the new investment will help the two exchanges continue to extend the scale of products and services that blockchain technology supports. He stated:

Crypto and traditional financial offerings continue to converge. We aim to work collaboratively with HGX to enhance the blockchain ecosystem in Singapore.

HGX, a private stock exchange driven by the community, was founded by local financial services group PrimePartners, wealth management firm PhillipCapital and Fundnel, a Southeast Asian private investment technology platform. Reportedly, it runs on the Zilliqa blockchain.

Binance working closely with ‘key agencies’

Teng became CEO of Binance Singapore in August this year. Before that, he was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market. He assures Binance continues working closely with “key government agencies” and is hiring local staff to promote the growth of the blockchain ecosystem.

Regulatory issues in Singapore

The acquisition comes in the wake of some regulatory issues in the country. Binance restricted Singapore users from using its services in late September over non-compliance. Previously, Singaporean regulators alleged Binance had violated payments laws and the exchange suspended services in the country.

Singapore suspends Bitget over misleading BTS promotion

In related news, the Monetary Authority of Singapore suspended digital asset platform Bitget, which has its head office in the country, after a dispute with an agency representing BTS, the popular K-pop boy band. On Sunday, the Financial Times reported Bitget had lost its license after listing ARMY, a new K-pop-related crypto.

Making money on BTS’ back

In late October, Bitget shared a tweet promoting, named after BTS ARMY, the boy band’s followers. ARMY is short for “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth,” CoinTelegraph wrote. Allegedly, Bitget used misleading information, claiming its crypto aimed “to take care of BTS members for life” and that it existed “for the benefit of #BTS”.

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