imToken Responds to MAS Alert, Aims to Clarify Business Model Amidst License Concerns
Summary:
Singapore's Monetary Authority (MAS) has placed cryptocurrency wallet provider, imToken, on its Investor Alert List due to the company's lack of a financial business license in the country. Following this, imToken has initiated discussions with MAS to clarify their unique business model and seek removal from the list. The company operates a self-custodial global wallet service that includes Singapore. Despite blacklisting crypto firms like imToken, MAS has recently issued a Major Payment Institution license to South Korean crypto exchange Upbit.
imToken, a digital currency wallet provider, has been flagged by Singapore's Monetary Authority (MAS) on its Investor Alert List (IAL), a warning system against dubious operations. imToken clarified their situation on X (previously Twitter) on January 9, explaining that the company, headquartered in Singapore, had been blacklisted due to lack of a financial business license in the country. "We're in active discussions with MAS, working to elucidate our unique business model and be eliminated from the Investor Alert List," stated imToken.
The company further noted that it runs a self-custodial wallet, offering its decentralized wallet services globally, including Singapore. imToken stressed the distinctions between their decentralized wallet and established centralized custodial services, guaranteeing that customers' assets are secured.
This announcement follows a few weeks after MAS added imToken to its IAL on December 5, 2023. No specifics were provided on the MAS website regarding the decision to blacklist imToken. Shortly after naming imToken, a crypto-related firm, BKEX, also made the list, as reported by Singapore's MAS on December 8, 2023. BKEX's inclusion in the blacklist came several months post the suspension of withdrawals on the exchange in May 2023.
imToken, which also operates a hardware crypto wallet known as imKey, offers apps on the Apple Store and Google Play—its apps boast ratings of 4.2 and 4.4, respectively.
imToken, which was founded in 2016, was initially based in Hangzhou, China, before relocating its headquarters to Singapore. In 2021, imToken secured $30 million in a Series B fundraising round led by Qiming Venture Partners, with contributions from prior investor IDG Capital and newcomers such as HashKey.
As of 2021, imToken reportedly housed 12 million users and $50 million of cryptocurrency on its platform, with transactions totaling over $500 billion. Around 70% of the users were based in China, with the remainder spread across regions including South Korea, the United States, and Southeast Asia.
While MAS blacklisted companies like imToken, it issued licenses to others. On January 7, Singapore's central bank granted a Major Payment Institution license to the South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, incrementing its operational scope.
Published At
1/9/2024 2:35:21 PM
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