Binance Singapore partners with Vertex Ventures to set up fiat-to-crypto gateway

Binance today announced the public launch of Binance Singapore, a fiat-to-crypto platform for the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies with the country's official currency.

With an am to grow the Singapore blockchain ecosystem, the global crypto exchange has also announced a partnership with VC firms Vertex Ventures China and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.

Binance Singapore's platform promises a real-time, 24/7 SGD deposit and withdrawal functionality via the Singapore FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) electronic funds transfer system. Local users can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin in Singapore using this service with other cryptocurrencies to be added in the future.

Having soft-launched in April, the company said it has seen user growth of about 20 per cent per week.

Commenting on the partnership, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, said: “Vertex has been a key driver of engaging the Singapore community through its trusted work with local regulators and financial institutions. Their global track record of managing an innovative technology portfolio and taking all the proper measures also showcases their ability to sustainably grow Singapore's broader blockchain ecosystem.”

Binance Singapore claims it currently charges the lowest trading, deposit, and withdrawal fees in the market. Its local payment partner and platform, Xfers, supports the platform's volume of transactions, together with an integrated account on-boarding process.

Binance Singapore is one of the three operating compliant fiat-to-cryptocurrency platforms in the Binance ecosystem. The other two are Binance Uganda (UGX) and Binance Jersey (EUR, GBP).

Thanks to its progressive regulatory environment and its status as a financial center in Southeast Asia, Singapore has of late attracted a number of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.