Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development has urged the public to “steer clear from cryptocurrencies”.
Minister Sun Xueling noted in a Committee of Supply speech that the amount of money lost in scams in 2024 reached a new high of SG$1.1 billion ($825.2 million), a 70 percent yearly increase
In her address, the official noted that “even crypto savvy individuals have lost heavily by investing in crypto”.
Singapore has gone so far as to introduce the Protection from Scam Bills in January, ‘to temporarily restrict banking transactions of these individuals’.
Authorities note, however, that ‘this will only be used as a last resort, after all efforts to convince the individual have failed’.
“The change of you getting a single dollar back is very low,” stated Minister Xueling regarding scams involving crypto.
The Minister indicated that scammers have increasingly targeted victims’ crypto wallets.
A particular focus of the government is social messaging app Telegram, with the Ministry indicating that the number of reported scams on the platform ‘close to doubled in 2024’.
The authority notes that it is ‘monitoring the situation closely’ and may use ‘legislative levers to mandate compliance’.
Prominent crypto trading platform Binance even published the news of the Singaporean Minister’s announcement, highlighting that Singapore ‘has long been know for its crypto-friendly stance’. The crypto giant noted that ‘an uptick in fraudulent activities has led some policymakers to reassess their views’.
