Singapore’s Temasek is ‘not comfortable’ investing in crypto firms: here’s why

• Temasek is reluctant investing in crypto firms due to regulatory uncertainty.
• Its CIO Rohit Sipahimalani discussed the crypto market with CNBC today.
• Temasek also recorded its worst returns since 2016 on Tuesday morning.

Now is not a suitable time to invest in crypto companies, says Rohit Sipahimalani – the Chief Investment Officer of Temasek.

Why is Sipahimalani avoiding crypto?

The enormous rally in Bitcoin since the start of this year has established that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Recent application for a Spot Bitcoin ETF from BlackRock is an additional seal of approval as well.

Still, Sipahimalani is reluctant in exposing his Singapore-based investment firm to crypto companies due to the regulatory uncertainty. Speaking with CNBC this morning, he said:

There’s a lot of regulatory uncertainty in this environment. We would not be comfortable investing in exchanges given the way things are right now.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently up against Ripple – the company behind XRP. It has also sued Biance and Coinbase recently for violating the U.S. securities laws.

Temasek was once an investor in FTX

Also on Tuesday, the state-owned conglomerate cited macro and geopolitical challenges and recorded a 5.07% decline in its annual shareholder return – the worst it has posted since 2016.

According to Sipahimalani, Temasek Holdings Limited is open to investing in crypto firms but only in a more favourable environment.

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

Note that Temasek wrote down its full investment in FTX last November to “zero”. The net value of its portfolio at writing is about $287 million.