Private cryptocurrencies have failed the basic test of digital money and are likely to be in decline in the near future
This is the view of Ravi Menon, retiring head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) who belives he is not the only one on the way out.
In a speech at an event hosted by Hong Kong's central bank, Menon echoed comments he made earlier this month at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 where he outlined the three basic failings of private crypto. Firstly, they have "miserably failed the test of money because they can't keep value".
In addition, their prices are subject to sharp speculative swings and many investors in cryptocurrencies have suffered significant losses.
Despite the savage criticism of private crypto, Menon was more positive about the potential of stablecoins and tokenisation.
The regulator has recently granted in-house approval to three firms issuing stablecoins – StraitsX SGD Issuance, StraitsX USD Issuance and Paxos Digital Singapore.
Meanwhile, the regulator's Project Guardian initiative has launched a number of pilots around tokenisation with partners such as Citi, JP Morgan and asset manager Apollo