Singapore suspends crypto ATMs despite investor appetite: Crypto Moves

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $3,074, down by 2.60 percent, according to data from Coindesk.

To curb Singapore's growing appetite for digital tokens, crypto ATMs are shutting down, as the city-state moves to significantly reduce consumer marketing of cryptocurrencies.

Daenerys & Co, the largest machine operator in Singapore has suspended its services to comply with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s request, the company said on Tuesday.

Another company, Deodi Pte, shut down its sole machine on Tuesday, the company said on its website.

“The Monetary Authority of Singapore's new guidelines regarding ATMs were an unexpected surprise,” Daenerys said in a reply to questions from Bloomberg.

The machines, which are mostly located in malls across Singapore, provide people with a convenient way to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether using fiat currencies, Bloomberg reported.

However, the notion of a fast and easy way into crypto trading for retail investors didn’t sit well with regulators, who explicitly mentioned the ATMs in guidelines released Monday.

Such offerings could encourage people to trade on impulse, the MAS said.

Meanwhile, Crypto.com said it has suspended all deposits and withdrawals while it investigates unauthorized activity on some accounts, according to Bloomberg.

The crypto wallet provider and trading platform said in a Twitter post that the measure was temporary to allow it to improve security and it would resume activity once the update was complete. The company added that all funds are safe.

Several users on social media have reported that their cryptocurrencies, sometimes worth tens of thousands of dollars, had disappeared from their Crypto.com accounts in recent days.

Technical issues on crypto trading platforms have become commonplace as the hype surrounding digital assets grows.

Providers such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken have all suffered widespread outages at times of peak demand in the last year, causing trouble for investors who were prevented from making withdrawals or liquidating their positions amid volatile trading periods.