Bitstamp receives payment institution license in Singapore, boosting Southeast Asia expansion

Bitstamp, the crypto exchange acquired by Robinhood, is set to increase its footprint in Southeast Asia after the market operator acquired a Major Payment Institution license in Singapore. 

As Bitstamp received the Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in Singapore, the exchange has now become a more reliable market operator, with a higher chance for expansion in Southeast Asia. Bistamp detailed its new status in a blog, marking its growing access to one of Asia’s significant financial hubs as a milestone to wider expansion in the Asia Pacific region. 

Bitstamp has over a decade of operating as a major global exchange, with a goal of regional compliance. The Singapore license follows the recent acquisition as MiCAR-compliant market in Europe. It is also fully registered for the US and the UK market.

The Bitstamp market operator is ranked 14th by Coingecko based on its trust score, lining up among the most liquid and reliable exchanges. The MPI license covers the scale of Bitstamp’s activity, as well as its access to stablecoins as e-money.

Singapore has licensed 235 MPIs to date, including market operators, payment services, brokerages, and fintech companies.

Bitstamp to connect markets globally

The presence of Bitstamp in Singapore aims to connect the Asia Pacific region to other regions, including the UK, EU, and the USA. Currently, crypto liquidity remains fragmented, mostly due to regional limitations. 

Being fully licensed also means Bitstamp can offer reliable on-ramps and cashing out, with multiple currencies and access to banks. 

The exchange carries close to $300M in daily trading volumes, bringing liquidity to both blue-chip pairs and trending meme tokens. The platform aims to build deeper liquidity, low-latency APIs, advanced trader tools, and custodial services. 

The exchange will be one of the carriers of RLUSD, also serving to expand the reach of Ripple’s stablecoin. 

Bitstamp builds local APAC team for regional expertise

Bitstamp will retain its experienced Asia Pacific team in Singapore, offering local expertise in markets, additional compliance and partnerships. The exchange’s team will offer more vetted services and assets after local meetings with platforms and projects. 

The Asia Pacific region is for now one of the smaller crypto hubs, with project funding still lagging behind the EU. Bitstamp aims to raise the bar for crypto activity, improving access and reliability, as well as increased liquidity.

Robinhood, its parent company, is now focusing on products for the EU market, tracking the growing trend of tokenized shares. Robinhood will offer tokenized shares, though not necessarily representing real ownership of stocks. 

The platform recently offered tokenized private equity for EU customers, though some projects protested that the tokens did not really represent company stock. Robinhood offered tokenized shares of private companies OpenAI and SpaceX, though for now limiting the activity to selected EU users.  

Bitstamp will also be one of the venues to trade tokenized stocks, though availability may be limited by region. Multiple exchanges are now testing tokenized shares, though some are only limited to whitelisted wallets and cannot spread to the wider crypto ecosystem.