🇸🇬 Crypto licence in Singapore

The regime

MAS licenses digital payment token (DPT) services under the Payment Services Act, in force January 2020 — a Standard or Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence depending on volume, with conduct, custody and consumer-access rules layered on through 2023-24. MAS has granted licences sparingly: dozens, from hundreds of applications.

From 30 June 2025 the separate Digital Token Service Provider (DTSP) regime under the FSM Act also captured Singapore-based firms serving only overseas customers — closing the gap that let offshore-facing businesses operate from Singapore unlicensed. MAS signalled it would license such firms only in extremely limited cases.

Requirements

• MPI licence (for scale providers) under the PSA for DPT dealing, exchange, transfer and custody; Standard PI below the volume thresholds.
• Base capital: S$250,000 for an MPI, plus security deposit; audit, technology-risk and outsourcing requirements per MAS notices.
• Custody: segregation of customer assets (90%+ in cold storage for retail), daily reconciliation, and restrictions on lending out retail assets.
• Consumer access measures: risk-awareness assessments, no credit-funded purchases, no incentives to trade for retail customers.
• DTSP: Singapore-based firms serving only foreign customers need a DTSP licence from 30 June 2025 — granted, per MAS, only in extremely limited circumstances.

Licensed firms

MAS-licensed DPT providers include:

• Coinbase — full MPI licence, October 2023
• Circle — MPI licence, 2023
• Crypto.com — MPI licence, 2022
• Paxos — MPI licence with stablecoin-issuance approval
• Independent Reserve — among the first licensed exchanges, 2021

Snapshot, not the register: verify current status against MAS Financial Institutions Directory before relying on it.

Can I run an offshore-only crypto firm from Singapore?

Not without a licence any more. Since 30 June 2025 the DTSP regime captures Singapore-based providers serving only overseas customers, and MAS has said it will grant such licences only in extremely limited cases.

How hard is a MAS DPT licence to get?

Singapore has licensed dozens of providers from several hundred applications since 2020 — one of the most selective major regimes. Approvals concentrate on firms with strong compliance builds and institutional backing.