Ripple said it had secured an in-principle approval to offer services in Singapore. The permit will enable Ripple to operate legally in the Asia-Pacific market and scale its regional business. Interestingly, Ripple has been in a lawsuit with the US SEC since 2020 as the regulator accused the firm of selling unregistered securities.

Ripple Gets an In-Principle Approval for Operating in Singapore

According to the press release, the license will enable Ripple to provide regulated digital payment token products and services and extend cross-border XRP transfers.

Ripple said that less than 20 crypto-related companies have secured in-principle approvals and licenses in Singapore so far. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the state’s central bank and financial watchdog, granted these permits.

The approval will allow Ripple to drive further customer adoption of its crypto-enabled payment solutions in the APAC region. Meanwhile, Singapore is one of the biggest currency corridors that Ripple uses to transfer money across borders using XRP. Further, many of Ripple’s on-demand liquidity transactions go through Singapore – often seen as the company’s regional APAC headquarters.

More Crypto Firms Seek Exposure in APAC

Over the past year, Ripple’s workforce in Singapore has doubled across several key functions, such as finance, business development, and compliance. However, the cross-border crypto payment provider is just one of numerous blockchain-related companies looking for ways to grow their presence in APAC.

Earlier this week, US-based crypto exchange Gemini said it plans to bring in more than 100 new employees to expand its current team in Singapore over the following year. The move comes as part of Gemini’s heightened focus on the APAC market, which it believes could be crucial in its next growth phase.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s chief legal officer Stu Alderoty said the company will continue seeking growth “outside of the US because the US has not taken this forward-looking regulatory approach or they haven’t even come up with a workable regulatory framework for this industry to survive in the US, let alone thrive in the US.” Ripple is still embroiled in a prolonged legal battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission over an alleged illegal securities offering through which Ripple raised more than $1.3 billion.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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