The chairman of Singapore’s Central Bank argued that cryptocurrency has a “useful role” in the country’s financial sector apart from being a tradable commodity.

Singapore has been playing a long game with cryptocurrencies for quite some time. In addition, the country’s central bank head’s recent remarks are an even more telling indicator of bitcoin’s promise.

The role of money in a digital society will become more defined, according to Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s chairman. “There may be a place for crypto in future finance that goes beyond pure speculation and crime,” he stated.

He also mentioned the use of stablecoins in traditional payment systems: “I think the future will be one where regulated stablecoins will have a useful role. A traditional payment system that innovates and becomes more interoperable across borders for cheap, fast, and instant payments will be an important part of that space, plus possibly some role for other independent innovators in the system.”

Furthermore, Shanmugaratnam stated that the central bank has a “highly open viewpoint” on cryptocurrencies.

While the chairman is positive regarding long-term crypto integration, he leans toward a fintech approach to the issue. He also stated that he does not believe that cryptocurrencies will be able to compete with fiat currency as legal tender because of volatility concerns.

“If you have an instrument that is volatile in pricing, it’s never going to become money,” he said. “It’s going to be a speculative asset, for both the wise and foolish.”

Singapore has strong crypto relations

Singapore, a former crypto-centric business and mining center, is positioning itself as a welcoming new Asian headquarters as cryptocurrency regulation tightened in China.

Not only are Singaporean authorities interested in bitcoin, but so are its residents, according to a number of recent studies. According to an independent reserve poll, 43% of Singaporeans own cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, cryptocurrency awareness is 93%. And who holds crypto in Singapore also have at least 5% of their whole investment portfolio as digital assets.