Grvt has taken an important step towards boosting compliance in Singapore after revealing that it has achieved Travel Rule compatibility with one of the city state’s top exchange platforms, Upbit Singapore. It’s a key designation for Grvt, as it means its users will be able to send cryptocurrency tokens to and from Upbit’s platform in a way that’s compliant with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules.
Upbit Singapore is one of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore. It’s a subsidiary of Upbit, the most dominant exchange platform in South Korea, and it has made great strides to become compliant with Singapore’s crypto-friendly regulations, securing a Major Payment Institution (MPI) that allows it to integrate with popular local payment processors such as FAST and PayNow.
Grvt said the technical integration with Upbit Singapore helps to strengthen its links to one of the most extensive and trusted networks in the crypto industry, reinforcing its commitment to meeting compliance standards globally. Singapore’s Travel Rule is a core element of the country’s legal framework for digital assets, and stipulates that virtual asset service providers such as Grvt must collect and share the identities of senders and recipients of any transactions over the value of S$1,500.
To comply with the rule, Grvt is required to verify its users through KYC processes, which it does. Yet it also remains decentralized, acting primarily as the infrastructure for user’s transactions. Unlike centralized exchange platforms, Grvt’s users aren’t asked to deposit funds on its exchange platform, but instead simply link their crypto wallet to engage in transactions, meaning they retain full custody of their assets.
Grvt said the integration is unique because it enhances its institutional readiness without eroding one of the foundational principles of its client base. As one of the leading decentralized exchange platforms, Grvt knows that its users are big believers in the idea of decentralization and unwilling to compromise on the idea of “your keys, your crypto”. Travel Rule compatibility means that Grvt can now comply with Singapore’s regulatory requirements without having to ask its users to give up control of their funds or deposit them into a third-party wallet.
For Grvt’s users there’s a more important benefit, for they’ll be able to send assets between its platform and Upbit Singapore without any holdups. Travel Rule compatibility with Upbit Singapore means it can facilitate virtually instant transfers without restrictions, resulting in a faster and more reliable experience with almost instant deposits.
Hong Yea, chief executive officer of Grvt, promised that customers will notice a “significant leap” in terms of user experience and ecosystem connectivity. “By bridging platforms, we’re giving users effortless access to broader markets and liquidity, tearing down the technical barriers that have traditionally segmented the space,” he added.
The milestone is important for Grvt as it seeks to reinvent itself as Ethereum’s core matching engine and liquidity layer. The platform was originally focused exclusively on offering a seamless and private perpetual trading experience, but it’s now looking to leverage its architecture, built atop of ZKsync Atlas, to become a critical infrastructure layer. ZKsync Atlas is a major upgrade to the ZK Stack that allows it to handle as much as 15,000 transactions per second, enabling Grvt pool liquidity from across the fragmented Ethereum ecosystem and facilitate seamless transfers between its base chain and Layer-2 networks.
Hong said the integration will also position Grvt as a more viable bridge between traditional finance and decentralized crypto rails. Even more intriguing, he said it can serve as a model for the exchange to build links with additional ecosystems in future. “We see this as setting a new standard for how intuitive and interconnected crypto trading should be,” he explained.
