Overview
Singapore regulates crypto through the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under two separate statutes. The Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA) licenses Digital Payment Token service providers. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 (FSMA), Part 9 of which commenced on 30 June 2025, captures Singapore-based persons and companies providing digital-token services exclusively to foreign clients. Together the two regimes leave no Singapore-linked crypto activity outside MAS supervision.
The practical picture in 2026: MAS has issued roughly 36 Major Payment Institution (MPI) licences authorising the DPT service out of more than 200 applications filed since the PSA commenced in January 2020. The DTSP regime, by design, will approve far fewer. MAS said in its official response to consultation that DTSP licences will be granted “only in extremely limited circumstances.” If your use case is an outbound-only service run from Singapore, expect to restructure rather than license.
The regulator. Monetary Authority of Singapore
MAS is Singapore's central bank and integrated financial regulator. Crypto licensing sits primarily in the Payments Policy Department and the Banking Department, which jointly handle DPT and DTSP policy. Formally the regulator is not adversarial, but its application-assessment standard has tightened year on year, especially around stored-value segregation (revised in 2023) and DTSP transition (no grace period was offered for entities caught by Part 9 on 30 June 2025).
Is crypto legal in Singapore, and who is in scope
Cryptocurrency itself is legal in Singapore. MAS does not prohibit buying, selling, holding or transferring digital payment tokens, but the moment a firm provides those services commercially, it falls inside one of two licensing perimeters. The Payment Services Act 2019 captures activity directed at Singapore clients; the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 Part 9 captures Singapore-based firms that serve only foreign clients. A natural person holding their own tokens for investment is outside both regimes. A company running an order book, a custodial wallet, a broker desk, an OTC desk, a stablecoin issuer or a token swap service is inside one of them and usually inside both.
In practice the in-scope population covers crypto exchanges, custodians, brokers, OTC desks, wallet providers offering a DPT service, stablecoin issuers (under the SCS framework, covered below) and Singapore-based teams of global groups that service only non-Singapore users. Staking-as-a-service, lending and tokenised securities fall under adjacent statutes (Securities and Futures Act), which we scope separately during pre-application review.
Track 1. Payment Services Act: Digital Payment Token service
The PSA regulates seven payment services. A crypto exchange or wallet operator typically provides the sixth, the Digital Payment Token (DPT) service, and must therefore hold either a Standard Payment Institution (SPI) or Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence. DPT cannot be authorised under the lighter Money-Changing Licence.
SPI vs MPI, threshold table
| Metric | SPI ceiling |
|---|---|
| Monthly payment transactions per activity | ≤ SGD 3 million |
| Monthly e-money float | ≤ SGD 5 million |
| Cross-border + domestic transfer combined | ≤ SGD 6 million |
Operating above any of these thresholds moves a firm automatically into the MPI category.
Base capital and security deposit
| Licence | Base capital | Security deposit |
|---|---|---|
| SPI | SGD 100,000 | n/a for DPT-only SPI in most cases |
| MPI, up to SGD 6M / month / service | SGD 250,000 | SGD 100,000 |
| MPI, above SGD 6M / month / service | SGD 250,000 | SGD 200,000 |
The security deposit can be placed in cash with MAS or posted as a bank guarantee in prescribed form.
Track 2. FSMA Part 9: Digital Token Service Provider
Part 9 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 was activated on 30 June 2025. It catches:
- Individuals or partnerships who, from a place of business in Singapore, carry on a business of providing digital-token services outside Singapore;
- Singapore-incorporated corporations (including LLPs) carrying on a digital-token-service business outside Singapore, whether the activity is physically conducted from Singapore or elsewhere.
The policy driver is FATF Recommendation 15 and its interpretive note, which require VASPs to be regulated where they are created. Before Part 9, a Singapore-incorporated company serving only non-SG clients could sit outside PSA, that regulatory arbitrage is now closed.
There was no transitional arrangement for Part 9. Entities caught on 30 June 2025 had to cease or suspend relevant activities or restructure unless they obtained a DTSP licence. MAS has made clear that licences under Part 9 are discretionary and will be rare. If your plan is to serve foreign clients only, realistically the choices are (a) fold into a Singapore PSA-licensed MPI that also serves local clients, (b) restructure into Hong Kong, Labuan or another APAC regime, or (c) apply for a DTSP licence fully aware the approval bar is high.
Single-currency stablecoin framework
MAS finalised its single-currency stablecoin (SCS) framework in August 2023, sitting alongside the PSA and addressing issuers of stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or a G10 currency with circulation above SGD 5 million. Authorised SCS issuers must hold reserves of cash, cash equivalents or short-dated sovereign debt equal at all times to the par value of tokens in circulation, redeem at par within five business days, and publish monthly attestations of reserves. Capital and operational requirements overlay the PSA MPI regime where the issuer also provides DPT services. For an issuer going to market in 2026, we plan the SCS label alongside the MPI filing, see stablecoin issuer licensing for scope.
The licensed-provider landscape in 2026
As of January 2026, MAS has granted roughly 36 Major Payment Institution licences authorising the Digital Payment Token service activity, per the live filter on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. The count is materially lower than the 200+ applications filed since the PSA commenced in January 2020, which illustrates how selective MAS has been, most filings are withdrawn during review, a minority are formally rejected, and a meaningful share convert into MPI grants only after two or three rounds of requests for information.
Named DPT-service MPIs include DBS Vickers, Coinhako, Independent Reserve, Crypto.com, Sparrow Exchange, Blockchain.com (SG), Coinbase Singapore, Ripple (MPI expansion granted 2024), and Bitstamp (authorised July 2025). The public list moves, always verify against the MAS Financial Institutions Directory on the day of filing. On the FSMA DTSP side, the expected approval count remains very small: MAS confirmed in its consultation response that DTSP licences would be granted “only in extremely limited circumstances”, and news coverage from Fortune, Blockworks and Ledger Insights in mid-2025 documented multiple outbound-only Singapore teams ceasing or relocating rather than applying.
High-level application requirements
- Singapore-incorporated Pte Ltd (or registered branch of a foreign corporation) with a permanent place of business in Singapore, evidenced by a live UEN on ACRA BizFile.
- At least one executive director resident in Singapore.
- A qualified Compliance Officer, resident in Singapore, with authority to halt activity.
- AML/CFT programme aligned with MAS Notice PSN02, including independent AML audit.
- Technology Risk Management framework aligned with MAS Notice PSN05.
- Segregation of customer assets on a named, ring-fenced basis; MAS tightened these rules in 2023.
- Travel Rule compliance (PSN02 Para 7 plus PSR 2019) with a SGD 1,500-equivalent threshold.
- Base capital satisfied: SGD 100,000 (SPI) or SGD 250,000 (MPI).
- Audited annual financial statements and ongoing MAS returns.
- Fit-and-proper test for directors, CEO and substantial shareholders holding 20% or more.
Process and timeline
| Stage | SPI | MPI |
|---|---|---|
| Application preparation, documents, AML programme, policies | 2–4 months | 3–6 months |
| MAS review | 4–6 months | 6–12 months |
| Operational readiness, technology, compliance staffing | parallel | parallel |
| End-to-end | 6–10 months | 9–18 months |
These are observed market timelines from 2023–2025; MAS does not publish a service-level commitment. MAS will normally request additional information two or three times during review, and we factor that dialogue into the envelope above.
Costs
Government fees (PSA, confirmed)
- Application fee: SGD 500 (Money-Changing, not applicable to DPT), SGD 1,000 (SPI) or the sum of per-service fees whichever is higher, SGD 1,500 (MPI) or the sum of per-service fees whichever is higher.
- Annual fees: roughly SGD 5,000 for an SPI and SGD 10,000 for an MPI across the full service set, scaling with the number of regulated services held.
DTSP-specific application fees under the FSM (Digital Token Service Providers) Regulations 2025 (S 342/2025) are prescribed separately. Verify the current figure through the MAS licensing page before budgeting.
Legal and consulting fees vary by complexity. For a first MPI filing covering DPT only, total external-fee budgets in the SGD 120,000–250,000 range are typical. Ready-made routes can compress the timeline; we cover these under ready-made company.
Taxation
- Corporate tax: flat 17%. Partial exemption applies to the first SGD 200,000 of chargeable income for SMEs.
- Territorial principle: foreign-sourced income that is not remitted to Singapore is generally outside tax.
- GST: 9% since 2024, applied to goods and services supplied in Singapore. Digital Payment Tokens are GST-exempt under the IRAS e-Tax Guide “GST: Digital Payment Tokens” (2020, revised).
- No dedicated crypto gains tax. Trading profits of a licensed entity fall inside corporate tax; long-term holdings by individuals are generally not taxed as capital gains.
Why Singapore
Singapore remains the reference jurisdiction for regulated crypto in Asia, even though MAS has tightened the licensing bar year over year. Five practical reasons clients land here rather than elsewhere in APAC:
- Regulatory clarity. Two statutes, one regulator, published notices (PSN01–PSN05) and a consolidated licensing page mean the rulebook is knowable in advance, unlike jurisdictions where the perimeter is still being drawn by circular.
- GST neutrality on DPT. The IRAS e-Tax Guide removed GST from qualifying digital-payment-token supplies in 2020, which removes the indirect-tax friction that plagued pre-2020 Singapore exchanges and most non-APAC regimes.
- Banking access. Singapore banks remain willing to open operating accounts for MAS-licensed MPIs, a sharp contrast with jurisdictions where a licence does not translate into usable banking.
- Reputation for counterparties. Institutional counterparties, custodians and auditors recognise the MPI label globally, which shortens onboarding with prime brokers, liquidity venues and fiat rails.
- Stablecoin optionality. The SCS framework gives issuers a credible home for SGD-pegged or G10-pegged stablecoins, which is still not available under most APAC regimes.
The trade-off is selectivity: MAS does not reward speed-to-file or cheap shells, and a weak application is more expensive than no application. Our engagement normally starts with a written feasibility view before we commit a filing slot.
FAQ
What is the minimum capital for a Singapore crypto licence?
SGD 100,000 for a Standard Payment Institution and SGD 250,000 for a Major Payment Institution, plus a security deposit of SGD 100,000 (up to SGD 6M monthly per service) or SGD 200,000 above that threshold.
How long does the MAS DPT licence take?
6–10 months for an SPI and 9–18 months for an MPI, including preparation plus MAS review. Exact duration depends on how many times MAS comes back with information requests.
Do I need a Singapore-resident director?
Yes. At least one executive director must be ordinarily resident in Singapore. The Compliance Officer should also be a Singapore resident with real authority to suspend activity.
Can I serve only foreign clients from Singapore?
Only with an FSMA Part 9 DTSP licence, which MAS has stated it will grant rarely. The practical alternatives are to serve Singapore clients as well under a PSA MPI, restructure to another APAC regime such as Hong Kong, or use a Labuan offshore structure.
Is issuing a stablecoin regulated?
Yes. MAS finalised its single-currency stablecoin framework in August 2023. Issuance of a SGD-pegged or G10-currency-pegged stablecoin sits inside the framework; see stablecoin issuer licensing.
What AML/KYC programme does MAS expect?
A full programme aligned with MAS Notice PSN02: customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence for higher-risk relationships, ongoing transaction monitoring, sanctions screening and suspicious transaction reporting to STRO. Our AML/KYC service builds this to MAS inspection standard.
What are the Compliance Officer and MLRO requirements?
A dedicated Compliance Officer and a Money Laundering Reporting Officer are expected, both ordinarily resident in Singapore with authority to halt onboarding and file STRs. MAS reviews their experience and independence as part of the fit-and-proper assessment.
Does Singapore apply the FATF Travel Rule?
Yes. Under MAS Notice PSN02 paragraph 7, originator and beneficiary information must be transmitted for digital-payment-token transfers at or above SGD 1,500 equivalent, with enhanced handling for unverified counterparties and unhosted wallets.
Can an offshore entity apply for a DPT licence?
No. The applicant must be a Singapore-incorporated Pte Ltd (or a registered branch of a foreign corporation) with a permanent place of business in Singapore, at least one Singapore-resident executive director and fit-and-proper substantial shareholders at the 20% threshold.
What is the difference between PSA DPT and FSMA DTSP?
PSA licenses firms serving Singapore clients with digital payment token services; FSMA Part 9 DTSP covers Singapore-based persons or corporations providing digital-token services exclusively to clients outside Singapore. The two regimes are complementary. DTSP closes the outbound gap rather than replacing the PSA licence.
Are there ongoing audit and reporting obligations?
Licensees file annually audited financial statements, periodic regulatory returns, suspicious transaction reports, and technology-risk incident notifications under MAS Notice PSN05. Customer assets must be held in segregated accounts with reconciliation evidence available for MAS inspection.
What are the annual fees after the licence is granted?
Aggregate annual fees prescribed under the Payment Services Regulations 2019 total approximately SGD 5,000 for an SPI and SGD 10,000 for an MPI across the full service set, scaling with the number of regulated payment services held. The Digital Payment Token service contributes to the aggregate.
How many crypto exchanges are licensed in Singapore?
As of January 2026, MAS has granted approximately 36 Major Payment Institution licences authorising the Digital Payment Token service activity, out of more than 200 applications filed since the PSA took effect in January 2020. The public list is maintained on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory and moves month to month as new approvals or lapses land.
Is cryptocurrency legal in Singapore?
Yes. Holding, buying, selling or transferring digital payment tokens is legal in Singapore. The regulated perimeter applies to firms that provide DPT services commercially, either to Singapore clients under the PSA or exclusively to foreign clients from a Singapore base under the FSMA Part 9 DTSP regime. Individual self-custody is outside both regimes.
How much does it cost in total to get a Singapore crypto licence?
Government fees are modest. SGD 1,000 application plus around SGD 5,000 annual for an SPI and SGD 1,500 application plus around SGD 10,000 annual for an MPI. The dominant line items are capital (SGD 100,000 or SGD 250,000 base plus SGD 100,000–200,000 MPI security deposit), Singapore-resident staffing and technology build. A first MPI filing covering DPT only typically costs SGD 120,000–250,000 in external legal and consulting fees across a 9–18 month calendar.