Singapore has suspended crypto exchanges with the K-pop BTS group

Singapore’s financial adviser has suspended a well-known digital currency exchange between a crypto-funded pension scheme that claims to be affiliated with South Korea’s largest BTS youth group.

Singapore’s move to suspend Bitget, the co-sponsor of Italian football team Juventus, comes as the city looks to establish itself as a global cryptocurrency hub.

Bitget in October was threatened with legal action by BTS Hybe for promoting digital Army Coin, known as BTS ARMY. The owner and creator of the money is unknown.

The platform announced Army Coin as a way to provide financial support for the rest of their lives BTS members “not to worry about survival but instead to do what they want to do”. Hybe said the money has nothing to do with BTS.

This article highlights the challenges that regulators face in trying to keep the crypto market afloat as digital currencies are widely accepted among retailers.

Last week the Spanish market leader criticized player Andrés Iniesta on the social networking site Binance, the largest crypto market in the world.

Singapore, a free trade and economic center, has always been more open to technical than regional fighters including Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Prominent cryptocurrency companies Binance, Ripple and Coinbase have applied for licenses and have been licensed by the Singapore Monetary Government to assist trading clients and organizations.

Bitget also received a pardon but this was withdrawn in July, according to someone familiar with the matter. Both Bitget and MAS declined to comment further on the reasons for the Bitget removal.

However, Bitget services were still in place in Singapore until the end of November when they were promoting Army Coin and its website went on to claim that it has MAS approval.

The company removed the MAS logo from its website after being linked to Financial Times and banned Singapore users from accessing its app and its website. Bitget still claims to have licenses in the US, Canada and Australia.

Bitget did not answer questions from FT as to why his services were still available to Singapore residents despite being fired.

Meanwhile, Army Coin was relaunched on CoinTiger, another digital currency exchange affiliated with Singapore. The CoinTiger announcement said the funds “are available for the benefit of BTS”, and will “benefit them financially”.

Hybe issued a statement in October stating that the money was not “inconsistent” with the BTS and warned that it would “do something” but declined to comment on the Creator of the Coalition.

The money remains available for users to buy and sell in other Bitget areas, including South Korea, although sales have been largely volatile.

FT research found that the costs fluctuate 78 times their daily value, up from $ 1,000 to $ 78,000 per minute.

The problem with the Singapore authorities, as with any other authority, was that they could not stop people from buying dangerous goods, said Varun Mittal, author. Singapore: Fintech Country.

“If someone wants to spend money on this exchange, the regulators can’t stop them,” Mittal said.

Crypto companies have expanded their advertising to benefit the growing interest of retailers. Crypto.com from Singapore paid more than $ 700m in November call for free at the Staples Center, a stadium in Los Angeles.

Bitget announced its sponsorship deal with Juventus in September. The changing name of the team logo appears on the team’s black and white shirts as the first “handmade”.