S'pore leaders send congratulatory letters to South Korean counterparts to mark 50 years of ties
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam (left) extended his warmest wishes to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and the people of South Korea in a letter dated Aug 8.
SINGAPORE - A shared interest in upholding free trade, multilateralism and the rules-based global order has been the foundation of 50 years of ties between Singapore and South Korea, the Republic's leaders wrote in messages to their counterparts.
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, addressing South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in a letter dated Aug 8, extended his warmest wishes to Mr Lee and the people of South Korea on the 'auspicious occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries'.
Mr Tharman said Singapore and South Korea have built a 'deep and abiding partnership' over the past 50 years, and said that links between people from the two countries grow stronger every year.
'Our shared interest in upholding free trade, multilateralism, and the rules-based international order, coupled with our strong investment and economic links, have laid a strong foundation for our ties,' added Mr Tharman.
He noted that Singapore and South Korea have growing cooperation in new areas like climate change, the green economy, the digital economy, food security, research and development, and artificial intelligence.
Mr Tharman said he is heartened that the two countries will be
upgrading relations to a strategic partnership later in 2025 , which he said will offer further synergies and benefit people from both countries.
'I am confident that we will be able to take bilateral ties to greater heights in the years ahead,' he added.
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Mr Tharman said he looked forward to meeting Mr Lee soon and sent his best wishes to Mr Lee for his health and success.
The South Korean embassy in Singapore said in a statement on Aug 8 that with the elevation of bilateral relations later in 2025, Mr Lee looks forward to further strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Lee also shared his hopes of Singapore and South Korea embarking on a new journey for the next century, said the statement.
In a separate letter dated Aug 8, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, addressing his South Korean counterpart, Mr Cho Hyun, said he is delighted that the two countries are marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
'This is a significant milestone,' he said.
Dr Balakrishnan said Singapore and South Korea are natural partners due to their shared interest in supporting free trade, multilateralism and a rules-based global order.
'We have similar strategic and regional outlooks. In this context, we have strengthened our engagement across existing and emerging sectors and our people have forged closer ties through regular interactions,' he said.
He added that the upgrade of relations to a strategic partnership later in 2025 will pave the way for even closer collaboration in existing and emerging areas.
'I look forward to working together to continue to broaden and deepen ties between our two countries,' said Dr Balakrishnan.
He wished Mr Cho continued good health and success, adding that he looked forward to meeting Mr Cho soon.
Both sets of leaders exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties between Singapore and South Korea on Aug 8, 1975.
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Mr Aneirin Flynn (left, pictured at the start-up competition Meet The Drapers) opted not to go to university so he could get straight into working. PHOTO: FAILSAFE Young Singaporeans like Mr Aneirin Flynn, 31, are emblematic of the subculture's freewheeling approach. As chief executive and founder of a crypto cybersecurity start-up, he has hired an engineer who once hacked into his firm by finding a vulnerability in its code. Many in the sector operate under the veil of anonymity, and avoid putting out their real names and pictures online out of fear of being doxxed and hacked. 'He didn't want to tell us his real name or where he was from,' says Mr Flynn, who adds that he later found out the hacker was based in Egypt. After a few months of working together and building trust, the hacker turned out to be 'one of the good guys'. He adds: 'Today, he's a real pillar of our company. This big burly man with a huge beard and kids, who's the friendliest guy ever.' 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Frequent comparisons were made with the excesses of 1980s Wall Street – as depicted in the 2013 movie The Wolf Of Wall Street – before regulation started to instil discipline. Ms Soh Wan Wei (right) with Hide the Pain Harold (a popular internet meme) at an ARC Community party in 2024. Members of ARC got to buy the Memeland token at an early stage. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SOH WAN WEI Another visible example of the sector's embrace of party culture is the private members' club ARC Community, known for its extravagant annual parties held by its Singaporean co-founders, which include singer JJ Lin and influencer Elroy Cheo. Members of this social club must own its non-fungible tokens (NFT), a type of digital asset, which are now being sold on online marketplace OpenSea starting at $4,000. Members received early access to purchase the Memecoin cryptocurrency created by internet culture website 9GAG, whose founder is also an ARC member. In 2024, they gathered for a meme-infused celebration featuring guests like Hide the Pain Harold, the coin's ambassador. The coin has since plummeted in value. In response to queries, ARC Community's head of brand Jaclyn Lee declined to discuss its parties or the lifestyles and networking habits of its members. 'We try not to go with these kinds of angles because it kind of furthers the impression that Web3 is not seen as very legitimate,' she says. This sensitivity to outside perception explains why the crypto world increasingly shuns talk of its parties and founders' high life, in favour of glossy magazine spreads about a founder's story and how he or she fell in love with the technology instead. Chasing waterfalls Members of the sector are eager to downplay its relationship with partying and jet-setting. PHOTO: TOKEN2049 The technology that underpins cryptocurrency remains in its early stages, which means that while some use cases exist, rampant speculation remains the norm, notes Dr Li Xiaofan, an assistant professor at NUS who researches cryptocurrency and cybersecurity. Dr Li recalls past examples of students being inspired to take on internships and a career in the crypto sector, only to emerge disillusioned. 'They thought they would be designing systems, or trying to improve it in certain areas, but in the end, they realised it's more like sales,' he says. 'Getting clients and money is much more important than developing the technology.' Lack of cryptocurrency regulations in many parts of the world means the magnetic pull of short-term gains – typically by exploiting gaps in investor information – can be impossible to resist. The ICO bubble of 2017 was the result of a flood of interest from members of the public, many of whom acted out of a fear of missing out on being an early investor in an Apple- or Google-like tech offering. But unlike initial public offerings (IPOs), the risk is not mitigated by financial reports and auditors, making investing in some crypto assets akin to operating in the thick fog of war. This involves scams and other activities where insiders profit at the expense of others left holding the bag, misrepresenting the extent to which a product actually involves blockchain technology, and building ecosystems to facilitate more crypto activities. 'People attracted to this industry do have certain qualities,' observes Dr Li. 'In my opinion, this may delay its development for the long-term good.' Experts say hype and speculation drive the crypto sector's focus on quick profits over long-term value. PHOTO: TOKEN2049 'The way to make money in crypto is to think of this as a waterfall of sh**,' Dr Bailey sums up a commonly held worldview in crypto bro circles. 'Either the sh** is falling on you, or you're higher up and safe from it and sh**ting on others instead.' This normalisation of malicious behaviour is echoed by many in the industry. For instance, one marketing professional argues that the 'extremely high failure rate' is not unlike that of tech start-ups. Another, when asked how he felt after the high-profile crashes of 2022, says 'it's normal to go through such things' and that it is outweighed by the joy of being in an emerging sector. The idea of a 'zero sum game', where profiting means somebody else must lose out, is common terminology. 'It is PvP (player versus player), not PvE (player versus environment),' Dr Bailey adds, referring to the video game labels for competitive instead of cooperative gameplay often used by crypto users. 'If you are taking something out, someone is putting that money in.' Yale-NUS College graduate Kaushik Swaminathan says after working in the sector since 2021, he has become wired to think in a more transactional way. PHOTO: COURTESY OF KAUSHIK SWAMINATHAN As Mr Swaminathan observes: 'People get upset at crypto when they lose money, and excited when they make money. Nobody really cares about the scandals, it's just that the downstream effect of the scandals is that they lose money. You need to have thick skin to survive in crypto, and those who have are mostly numb to the noise of the outside world.' Something he finds unsettling is how, after working in the sector since 2021, he has become wired to think in a 'more transactional' way. 'This is not something I love,' he says. 'Once you're in the crypto black hole, money becomes the currency or language of every interaction.' This means when someone approaches him at a conference with an idea, his default state of mind is if he is about to be taken advantage of. 'People use the phrase: 'I don't want to be your exit liquidity',' he says, explaining that it means 'I don't want to be the sucker that you're able to offload your things on'. 'Cultish' Ms Soh Wan Wei, 37, who has been investing and working in the crypto sector since 2017, takes a harsher view, saying she is not a fan of the 'I do what I want' culture that she sees as pervasive in the scene. Ms Soh Wan Wei (pictured speaking at a fintech event) says money warps the morality of those working in crypto. PHOTO: SIBOS 'You have people from Binance going to jail, and coming out, and people treat him like a god,' she says, referring to crypto exchange Binance's former chief executive Changpeng Zhao's four-month prison sentence for money laundering in 2024. 'If suddenly one's net worth goes up by 1,000 times, you will treat the guy as a god,' she adds. 'It's very cultish.' There is a sense that wealth equals morality, she adds. She recalls instances when crypto bros would flex by showing off pictures of themselves in castles and helicopters. Wanting to build rapport, she would 'just clap for him and say 'good for you, I'm so happy for you'.' Still, she concedes there is an addictive quality to the sector's volatility. Despite the threat of 'rug pulls' – where founders flee with investors' funds – and seeing the value of one's assets nosedive, the adrenaline high of a successful bet is alluring. 'The feeling is like buying Labubus.' These days, she prefers to stay away from crypto conferences. 'The barrier to entry is so low,' she adds. 'Just buy Bitcoin and get rich off it.' Such volatility also sharpens the subculture's ideological zeal as it weeds out those without sufficient grit or belief to hold on after a high-profile crash. A few weeks after joining Web3 software company Animoca Brands in 2022, Mr Brian Chan witnessed an industry rattled by the high-profile conflagration of the Luna cryptocurrency, followed by FTX's spiral, which signalled the start of the industry's bear market era. 'The volatility of crypto is a feature, not a bug, of the industry,' says Mr Chan. Splitting his time between Hong Kong and Singapore as Animoca Brands' deputy chief executive, he heads the development of a blockchain chess game Anichess, in collaboration with This volatility flushed out some 'non-believers' not only at Animoca but also across the sector, he observes. The company has a staff strength of 10 in Singapore. The uncertainty also guides how recruiting managers in the sector sift out applicants. 'When we hire, we do look at culture and values,' says Mr Chan. 'When I hire my specific teams, I care less about their CVs and their resumes, and I care more about what they have actually done in the space. That will give you some indication whether that person is in it for the long term. Whether he or she is a true believer or is solely in it for the upside.' This emphasis on non-traditional metrics is part of what makes the sector so appealing to young and hungry talent, especially when compared with traditional finance, where brand-name university qualifications reign supreme. Still, Mr Chan identifies something different about the newest wave of interest in the sector. While past cycles of growth were driven by the 'euphoria of pumping and dumping', 2025 is seeing more and more suits lending the scene new-found legitimacy. Is Singapore becoming a crypto capital? The OKX Singapore office at the Marina Bay Financial Centre. The company has over 900 employees in Singapore. PHOTO: OKX SINGAPORE While crypto bro culture is facing a resurgence globally, industry insiders are divided on whether Singapore is becoming a crypto capital as local regulations paint a complex picture. In June, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) tightened the rules, requiring crypto service providers serving customers outside of Singapore to be licensed. Previously, only those serving Singapore customers needed to be. Other restrictions also include a ban on crypto companies advertising their services in Singapore, as well as requiring providers to perform customer due diligence and report suspicious transactions. Experts speaking to ST say several issues hinder proper regulation of the sector. These include the lack of tools for auditors to ensure smart contracts (computer programs that run on blockchains) work properly and safely, the prevalence of cybercrime, the ease of anonymity and market manipulation, and the lack of responsible authorities in many cases. 'While the promise of blockchain and cryptocurrency is enormous, regulators need to address these complex challenges head-on,' says Dr Daniel Rabetti, an assistant professor at the NUS Business School. Asset tokenisation remains one promising use case of the technology, he adds. This refers to the ability to represent real-world assets as digital tokens, thereby democratising access to traditionally illiquid markets and creating a greater level of financial inclusion. Industry insiders say over the years, a shift towards institutionalisation has meant an exodus of those who prefer to operate in the greyer areas of the crypto world, as well as those who reject compliance and monitoring requirements. On Aug 1, the Singapore Police Force and MAS announced that local cryptocurrency trading platform Tokenize Xchange was under investigation. A director of its parent company was also charged with fraudulent trading. Prior to this, the company said it had ceased operations in Singapore and was relocating to Malaysia. Meanwhile, news agency Bloomberg reported in June that unlicensed exchanges such as Bitget and Bybit were planning to shift existing operations in Singapore to Dubai and Hong Kong. At the same time, the highly remote nature of the crypto sector means that many who work for unlicensed exchanges – which are not allowed to solicit Singapore customers – such as Binance continue to live and work out of Singapore. It is not just regulation that plays a role, as some argue that crypto's emphasis on decentralisation and breaking with norms appears to be incompatible with Singapore's emphasis on centralisation and stability. Privately, some say the sector's workers are more likely to embrace non-traditional ways of living that can be hard to live out in relatively conservative Singapore. One of the most headline-grabbing aspects of the FTX collapse was its leaders' co-living and polyamory, or having multiple partners. Indeed, the size and density of Singapore's crypto scene means nearly everyone knows everyone else, creating a vibe akin to a 'village' or 'middle school', rather than a growing hub, outside of conference season. This means gossip travels quickly and people can close ranks easily. Dr Loretta Chen (right) believes that Singapore's crypto regulations mean firms here can tout compliance as their competitive edge. PHOTO: SMOBLER However, enthusiasts like Dr Chen are optimistic about Singapore, arguing that the Republic is a natural hub for 'incredibly intelligent people' and high-net-worth individuals because of its reputation for safety and strong regulatory frameworks. She notes that whenever Mr Buterin visits the country, he does so without a security entourage and uses public transport, something that cannot be done in other crypto hubs. Being in Singapore also engenders a different kind of company set-up, says Dr Chen, who adds that Smobler stays away from the temptation of short-term profit of 'sh**coins and memecoins' and has diversified by going into AI and virtual reality. 'The technology lends itself to it, and many jump on that bandwagon, but we do not,' she adds, noting a long-term orientation is necessary for working closely with financial institutions and regulators. 'Regulation provides training wheels and guardrails,' says Mr Swaminathan. 'We can't be cowboys forever.' Enter the suits As regulators and financial institutions increasingly engage with crypto bros across the globe, it is giving the sector a growing veneer of legitimacy. This is channelling in more workers who might once have been destined for traditional finance or consulting careers. Crypto enthusiasts like Mr Tan note that as banks and family offices increasingly discuss crypto and hold related events, it has created a 'movement away from the original crypto bro Twitter culture'. Mr Hassan Ahmed (top right, with the Coinbase Singapore team) says the company is seeing an influx of interest from applicants. PHOTO: COINBASE Mr Hassan Ahmed, Singapore country director for Coinbase, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, echoes this viewpoint. 'The regulatory uncertainty was not just weighing on companies and capital allocators, but also on job applicants,' he says, referring to the pre-2025 years. 'Perhaps I wouldn't want to make my career path in an industry that might be driven offshore.' Coinbase has a staff strength of about 100 in Singapore. Mr Ahmed notes it is now seeing a record number of applicants. Similarly, crypto exchange OKX Singapore's chief executive Gracie Lin, 43, says her 900-strong firm has seen a strong uptick in interest from applicants. There were three times the number of applications in the first half of 2025 than over the same period in 2024. Such interest is not only confined to 'Web3 natives', but also from experienced applicants from traditional tech and finance, as well as new graduates. 'It feels like the industry has entered a more confident, post-winter phase, and regulatory clarity in Singapore and other key markets has definitely contributed to that momentum,' she says. This change is also visible at Token2049. Mr Chua Ee Chien, Token2049's commercial director, says the conference is seeing a surge of interest from organisations outside the world of crypto. PHOTO: TOKEN2049 Mr Chua Ee Chien, 37, the conference's commercial director, says four years ago, all the speakers at the event were from the crypto sector. More recently, it has welcomed speakers from BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Attendees say this can at times create a puzzling mish-mash of cultures. On one side, suited bankers and regulators hold roundtable discussions. On the other side, men in T-shirts and shorts rub shoulders with scantily clad women in costumes or jump into cold plunges. 'And I'm sitting here thinking this is the reason crypto doesn't have more adoption on the institutional level yet,' says Mr Flynn. 'But that paradox, it's fascinating. It's what draws people like me to the space.' One such person making a hard pivot from traditional finance to crypto is Mr Eddie Hui, 50, who relocated to Singapore in 2022 from France to join MetaComp after 23 years at French bank Societe Generale. MetaComp is a digital payment solution provider, with products including a cross-border payment infrastructure powered by stablecoins, typically cryptocurrencies pegged to an existing currency like the US dollar. 'Up until recently, if you mention digital assets, people wouldn't know what you're talking about,' he says. 'If you mention crypto, they'll say it's a scam. But with the Genius Act, it really brings a lot of legitimacy into the space.' The Genius Act is a US federal law aiming to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins, which was signed into law by President Trump in July. Dr Emiliano Pagnotta, an associate professor of finance at Singapore Management University, says stablecoins have emerged as the dominant use of crypto. In 2024, on-chain stablecoin settlement volumes surpassed US$15 trillion, eclipsing both Visa and Mastercard. 'Yet, despite this growth, regulatory ambiguity has remained a barrier to broader adoption. That changed with the recent passage of the Genius Act in the US,' he says. Dr Pagnotta adds that Bitcoin has also become a household name, and is now only behind gold and the top six US firms in market cap (Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet/Google and Meta). Since the launch of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products in 2024, integration with traditional finance has accelerated, drawing over US$54 billion in inflows. 'In 2025, a notable trend has emerged: corporations acquiring Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset,' he says. 'Overall, this momentum is unlikely to fade, given persistent global concerns over fiat debasement, geopolitical instability and property rights erosion.' Meanwhile, Dr Christian Hofmann, an associate professor at the NUS faculty of law, says even central banks are now exploring the use of similar technologies. 'Of particular interest is the concept of wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) – a tokenised form of central bank money,' says Dr Hofmann. 'Especially in the context of cross-border transactions, such CBDCs could facilitate inter-jurisdictional payments and reduce dependence on existing private-sector intermediaries, notably the correspondent banking network.' Mr Eddie Hui, who made a hard pivot from banking to crypto, is emblematic of the growing institutionalisation of the sector. PHOTO: METACOMP For Mr Hui, a long-time banker, making the shift to crypto has not been without growing pains. For one thing, there is the constant need to educate and explain the product when dealing with traditional finance institutions. 'I never expected to be doubted in my field of work,' he says. 'You need to do a lot of education for people to understand what you're trying to do.' 'It's very different from the banking industry, where everyone who wants to work in the industry has studied finance at some point,' he says. 'When you work in crypto or digital finance, you cannot say, 'Please find me a candidate with over 10 years of experience.' There are a few of them, but it's more difficult to find.' Still, Mr Hui concedes that many of the firm's senior staff come from traditional finance backgrounds. 'All this experience and knowledge we acquired in traditional finance, what we're trying to do is apply it to the digital assets space as well.' For some of the insiders who spoke to ST, such institutionalisation marks a shift away from the sector's wilder and more informal subcultural origins – once premised on distrust towards centralised finance. 'The traditional prestige indicators that you normally look for in investment, banking or traditional tech roles – they're all coming into crypto,' says Mr Swaminathan. 'People care about your Ivy League education, your big tech resumes,' he says. 'They care about things that five to eight years ago, they certainly didn't. Now, it's frankly not all that different from if you were applying for a job at Google.'
Straits Times
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- Straits Times
LA28's Wasserman says Trump-led task force shows government commitment
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman, holds 1984 Los Angeles Olympics medals as he delivers remarks before signing an executive order to create a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the LA 2028 Summer Olympics, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 5, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo LOS ANGELES - LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman on Friday defended President Donald Trump's controversial decision to name himself head of a White House task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, saying it reflected the federal government's commitment to the Games. "The president naming himself the chair is unique, but I think it shows the importance of this event to the president and the federal government, which just validates their support and their commitment to delivering these Games with us," Wasserman told Reuters. Noting that then-Vice President Al Gore chaired the White House task force for the 1996 Atlanta Games, Wasserman said, "This is not a new concept... This is business as usual." Trump, a Republican, said this week he would lead the task force to deliver a "safe, seamless and historically successful" Olympics to California's largest city, a stronghold of the opposition Democratic Party. The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial on Thursday, called for the city to pull out of the Games due to Trump's involvement, citing the administration's deportation blitz in the region. Wasserman was in Washington as Trump signed the executive order on Tuesday creating the task force, which is meant to help coordinate security, transportation, visa processing and other issues related to the 2028 Games. "This administration and the whole force of the federal government has truly been consistently engaged, supportive and responsive," Wasserman said. "That's all you could ask for with what we're trying to do." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump says he will meet Putin on Aug 15 in Alaska Opinion This US-India spat is going from bad to worse Asia Chinese villagers hit by worst floods in generations say they had no warning Singapore 'This is home', for retired shop owner putting up 11th flag display in Toa Payoh to mark SG60 Singapore Nation building is every Singaporean's responsibility, not the work of one party alone: Pritam Asia 'Very nerdy' hobby of doujinshi self-publishing is a growing billion-dollar market in Japan Business Are you set to retire comfortably in Singapore? Business When a couple's two-home dream turns into nightmare He said the organizers, working with 36 federal agencies, need a unified federal effort rather than "piecemeal" engagement. Trump has not shied away from the glare of the sports spotlight during his second term. In May he created a presidential task force for soccer's 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In February Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl and last month he was on the field in New Jersey to celebrate Chelsea's win in the FIFA Club World Cup. REUTERS
