{"title": "Singaporean Government Grants Preliminary Approval to South Korean Crypto Exchange UPbit", "body": "According to Foresight News, the Singaporean government has granted preliminary approval to South Korean crypto exchange UPbit, allowing it to provide digital payment token services within the city-state. This comes after a series of approvals for other major players in the crypto industry, such as Ripple and Coinbase, which have also been awarded Major Payment Institute (MPI) licenses earlier this month. UPbit Singapore is expected to receive its full license at a later date, provided no unexpected issues arise.\n\nUPbit CEO Alex Kim expressed that obtaining the MPI license was a significant milestone for the company, which has been working towards it since 2018. UPbit Singapore Pte. Ltd. will operate under the umbrella of UPbit APAC, which oversees the exchange's business in Thailand and Indonesia, as well as running VerifyVASP, a proprietary Travel Rule solution provider. Azman Hamid, UPbit Singapore's Chief Compliance Officer, thanked the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its trust and reiterated the firm's commitment to helping Singapore maintain its dominance in financial markets. With this approval, UPbit plans to continue developing tools for developers, such as VerifyVASP, and enhancing its trading capabilities."}