Singapore Announces Plans to Launch First Fiat-to-Cryptocurrency Exchange for Better Accessibility to Public

Cryptocurrency may be almost ten years old, but there is still a large portion of the public that doesn’t use it or even know about it. Some people stay away from the investment opportunity due to the lack of understanding or accessibility. In effort to encourage more worldwide participation, Singapore is taking the first steps to establish a fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange, which will be the first of its kind. According to reports, this decision is an effort to make it easier for both businesses and consumers to get involved in the industry.

The launch doesn’t seem to have an official date yet, but Eureka Pro (the exchange) already has an open public beta in the works. So far, in the first week of being live, it has already gained 8,000 sign-ups. This exchange is still expanding on the fiat currencies that can be used, but it presently includes trades with the Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah, and others.

CEO Junus Eu of EurekaPro said,

“Our platform represents a unique proposition for the blockchain space in Southeast Asia, by removing or reducing entry barriers to the crypto market that may otherwise prevent consumers from adopting blockchain technology.”

Using Southeast Asia to establish this kind of platform is a smart move, considering that it is one of the fastest developing markets in the world. Even though there are different policies in the various countries in the region, both Singapore and Thailand have expressed their welcoming to the crypto community.

Singapore was in the media in August for their partnership between Singapore’s Monetary Authority, Deloitte, NASDAQ, and Anquan. This group was formed to find solutions for their exchanges, alone with the final settlements involving digital currencies and security assets.

Thailand’s moves have been a little more stringent, working on regulations in the cryptocurrency industry and defining security and currency tokens. The classification has been based on their intended purpose during use. The regulations also dictate how initial coin offerings (ICOs) must function, while requiring them to have a minimum of 5 million baht as the minimum base capital. At least 50 countries have stepped forward to get their own ICO licenses, since the regulations have been put in place.