According to CoinDesk, Singapore's new president, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has served as the country's finance minister and central bank chairman. Although the presidency is mostly symbolic, Shanmugaratnam's financial experience may give him some influence on relevant policies. The 66-year-old new president once called cryptocurrencies "pure speculation" and "a little crazy."
Singapore was an early adopter of cryptocurrencies but has struggled to find the right regulatory balance following the collapse of prominent domestic crypto firms Terraform Labs and Three Arrows Capital during Shanmugaratnam’s tenure as chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).