Singapore’s Investment Giant Temasek Pauses Crypto Efforts, Cites Regulatory Uncertainty

Rohit Sipahimalani – Chief Executive Officer of the Singaporean state-owned conglomerate Temasek – said the entity is currently not interested in cryptocurrency investments due to the lack of regulatory clarity. 

The company had a bad experience with the digital asset sector, losing $275 million when FTX collapsed.

A Possible Re-Entry With Appropriate Rules

CEO Sipahimalani claimed in a recent interview that there is “a lot of regulatory uncertainty” in the cryptocurrency sector, which makes it “very difficult” for Temasek to join the ecosystem with another investment. 

On the other hand, he assured that the company will re-think its position should regulators impose a comprehensive regulatory framework on the industry:

“If you have the right regulatory framework, and we are comfortable with it, and you have the right investment opportunity, there’s no reason for us not to look at it.”

It is worth mentioning that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has taken some steps to ensure maximum protection for local crypto participants. The watchdog plans to ban digital asset organizations from offering lending and staking services to retail investors. It might also insist that such firms hold customers’ assets in a designated trust by the end of 2023.

Temasek was among the numerous entities that parted with a considerable amount of money due to its interaction with the once-prominent crypto exchange FTX. The company, which has almost $500 billion of assets under management, invested $275 million in FTX and lost everything due to the latter’s demise in November last year. 

Sipahimalani explained that the FTX investment was part of Temasek’s early-stage strategy, where it distributed funds in “new disruptive technologies to see what’s around the corner.” 

The CEO also revealed that the company conducted proper due diligence when considering the move and went ahead since the marketplace “had good technology, was gaining market share, and showed a willingness to engage with regulators and be licensed.”

Taking Responsibility

The unsuccessful interaction in FTX has harmed the reputation of the Singaporean state-owned conglomerate. As such, the team and senior manager who approved the investment have taken full responsibility and had their annual compensations cut down:

“The investment team and senior management, who are ultimately responsible for investment decisions made, took collective accountability and had their compensation reduced.”

Temasek did not reveal the exact deducted amount or whether other employees’ bonuses or salaries have been decreased. 

The lengthy list of companies that suffered losses due to investing in FTX also includes the world’s largest asset manager – BlackRock, the venture capital firm – Sequoia Capital, the crypto technology investment company – Paradigm, the Japanese Softbank, and many more.