Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has received a full payment licence in Singapore from the city’s central bank, the US-based company announced on Monday.

The Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will allow Coinbase to offer digital payment token services to individuals and organisations in Singapore, which has emerged in recent years as a cryptocurrency hub in Asia.

Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, received initial authorisation in October last year.

Singapore has attracted digital asset companies from countries such as China and India. Coinbase said this market is “vital” to the company, citing survey data showing that 32 per cent of Singaporeans own cryptocurrencies or have done so in the past.

However, a series of collapses of cryptocurrency companies in 2022, including hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, have cooled enthusiasm for the industry. Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek cut the pay of a team that recommended a $275m investment in the now-bankrupt FTX.

Last month, MAS, which is Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, said on its website that it only grants licences to cryptocurrency companies if they have robust anti-money laundering controls and that “most applicants have not been successful”.

According to MAS, 14 companies have been granted a licence for cryptocurrency payments, including the Singapore-based units of British fintech firm Revolut and London-based cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com.

Reuters reported last year that around 180 companies had applied for crypto payment licences under the new regime in 2020.

In August 2022, MAS said it plans to adopt rules that will make it harder for retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies at a time when they seem to be “irrationally oblivious” to the risks involved.