The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has cancelled its in-principle approval for crypto lender Hodlnaut to obtain a digital payment token services licence, according to a Bloomberg report.
The Singapore-based crypto firm on Monday announced that it was suspending its customer withdrawals with immediate effect. In a Hodlnaut statement, the firm said it had reached the decision due to “recent market conditions”.
Hodlnaut also shared that it informed the regulator of the withdrawal of its MAS licence application and therefore would not provide regulated digital payment token (DPT) services and cease all borrowing and lending services.
“We are actively working on the recovery plan that we hope to provide updates and details on as soon as permissible. We are consulting with Damodara Ong LLC on the feasibility and timelines of our intended execution plan and are strategising our recovery plan with our users’ best interests in mind,” a Hodlnaut spokesperson wrote on its website.
A number of Singapore-linked crypto firms have fallen under hard times since the collapse of crypto at the beginning of this year.
Singapore crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital is in liquidation, while B Capital-backed trading platform Zipmex has halted withdrawals. Other crypto lenders such as Vauld and Babel Finance have also stopped customer withdrawals since crypto prices crashed. Year-to-date, bitcoin and ethereum prices have slumped around 50%.
The MAS has since begun tightening scrutiny over crypto operations in the country prompting the likes of Binance and BitMEX to shift their base from Singapore to friendlier regimes like Dubai.
The pace of licensing approvals by the MAS has also reportedly slowed. Earlier this year, Singapore passed another law that required virtual asset service providers in Singapore to be licensed in another move to tighten crypto oversight in the country.