Binance’s custody unit Ceffu to apply for license in SG, after rebranding to target corporate clients

Binance’s custody unit Ceffu will be applying for a Capital Markets Service license to offer custodian services in Singapore, according to executives from the company.

According to Nikkei Asia, Ceffu’s head of law enforcement training at Binance Jarek Jakubcek said that the company has been ramping up capabilities to meet regulators’ demands. 

“If you take a look at recent hirings, you will see that Binance is hiring people with years of experience in law enforcement and regulations”

Ceffu Vice President Athena Yu confirmed the statement, saying that “once the relevant amendments to the Payment Services Act go live and the application for a custody license opens, Ceffu will make its official application with the MAS”.

The company was initially launched as Binance Custody, before being rebranded as Ceffu in November 2022 and pivoting from retail to corporate customers for the Singaporean market.

Binance is currently being targeted by regulators in the US for offering BUSD on its platform, which the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleges is a security. Amid the media storm, Coinbase, another MAS-approved cryptocurrency exchange, delisted the token. 

Binance Australia is also under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for its derivatives services, for falsely classifying some users as ‘wholesale investors’.

Binance had also previously applied for a license in Singapore but withdrew its application and announced that it would exit Singapore in February 2022 instead due to “strategic, commercial, and developmental considerations globally”. 

MAS has also ordered Binance to stop courting retail investors from Singapore, and Binance is still under investigation to determine if it breached MAS regulations in offering crypto services to Singapore residents without having the relevant permits. 

Several other exchanges, however, have received approvals from MAS to offer crypto services in Singapore, including CoinHako, and DBS Vickers, a brokerage by DBS.

Licenses have also been awarded to several other companies, including companies offering custodian services such as Paxos.

Featured Image Credit: CryptoSlate