6

June

2025

MAS makes sudden move to restrict crypto licensing for foreign firms

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has tightened its approach to the regulation of Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs) under the 2022 Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). On June 6, 2025 the MAS announced that DTSPs operating in Singapore but serving only foreign customers must obtain a license by June 30, 2025, or shut down. Citing money laundering risks, the MAS emphasized the licensing threshold would be high but that the agency “will generally not issue a license.” Failure to comply or cease operations is punishable by heavy fines and imprisonment. The new requirement does not apply to licensed DTSPs serving customers in Singapore (who are already regulated) or only distributing utility or governance tokens.

Singapore had a reputation as a hub for the digital assets industry, but many firms could now be forced to exit the jurisdiction on relatively short notice. The MAS issued a consultation paper in October 2024, outlining newly proposed FSMA requirements for DTSPs. Although the comment period on the MAS’s proposed rules closed in November, the MAS has yet to finalize the rules.

Last updated 06/13/2025.


Singapore (Regulatory)

History:

  • Jun 06, 2025: MAS announces that unlicensed DTSPs serving only foreign customers must obtain a license under the FSMA by Jun 30, 2025, or cease operations.
  • Nov 04, 2024: The comment period for the proposed regulation closes without any further announcements from the MAS as to implementation. MAS has said that they will give four weeks notice before the enactment of the proposed regulation.
  • Oct 04, 2024: The MAS issues a consultation paper with proposed regulations for Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs) under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA).
See the MAS press release
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Tom Momberg

+17186645458 tom.momberg@dlxlaw.com

Tom advises clients in an array of matters related to blockchain technology, decentralized finance, banking and payments systems, financial products, and financial technology applications. He joined DLx Law as an attorney after working as in-house counsel for a payments and banking software service provider, advising on various legal and regulatory matters, operations, risk, customer due diligence, and corporate best practices.

Tom received his J.D. from George Mason University Law School in Virginia and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Tom is a former journalist, and, while in law school, he interned for DLx Law and served as a law clerk for several federal institutions in Washington, D.C., including the CFTC, FCC, and House Judiciary Committee. Tom is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and the State of Oregon.

Angela Angelovska-Wilson

+12023651448 angela@dlxlaw.com

Angela is an early distributed ledger technology adopter and a leading authority in the evolving global legal and regulatory landscape surrounding distributed ledger technology and smart contracts. Prior to co-founding DLx Law, Angela served as the Chief Legal & Compliance Officer of Digital Asset and was part of the founding team.

Prior to joining Digital Asset, Angela was a partner at Reed Smith where she regularly advised clients on the implementation of new technologies to finance and the complex regulatory schemes involved in the development, creation, marketing, sale and servicing of various financial services and products. Before Reed Smith, Angela spent most of her career in various roles at Latham & Watkins, where she was recognized by The Legal 500 US among the top finance attorneys in the U.S.

Angela has a deep understanding of the Fin-Tech industry and in particular the distributed ledger industry, having been involved in a number of startups in various roles, as an employee, entrepreneur and advisor. In addition to DLx Law, Angela is also co-founder of Sila Inc., an innovative technology company.