Local crypto companies in Singapore must stop serving overseas customers by June 30, 2025. The Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) clarified this move after hearing the new rules of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022.
Any company, individual or partnership registered in Singapore will need to suspend or close these operations unless it obtains a license in a timely manner.
License requirements for encryption services
According to MAS, companies that fall under Section 137 of the FSM Act are considered to operate in Singapore, even if most of their work takes place overseas.
This means that even if token services are not your primary job, you still need permission to keep moving forward. No extra time has come – Maas said they won’t offer any transition periods. Actions after June 30, 2025 without proper approval can lead to serious trouble.
Non-compliant fines
According to the report, local token service providers who ignore the rule could face fines of up to 250,000 SGD or about $200,000. They can also see that they are in prison for three years.
Only businesses that have already been under existing financial laws (such as the Securities and Futures Act, the Financial Advisor Act, or the Payment Services Act) do not have to worry about the new DTSP rules. This limits how many clothing can still serve overseas customers without significant changes.
A scenic view of Singapore. Image: Expedia.
Exec says there are few licenses
Hagen Rooke, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, warned that MAS issuing new DTSP licenses only in rare cases. He said such services have raised additional concerns about anti-money laundering and stopping terrorist financing.
This means most companies will find it difficult to qualify. Rooke wrote on LinkedIn that MAS will grant licenses under the new framework only under very limited circumstances. He urged local clothing to find ways to strip Singapore links or move part of its operations elsewhere to avoid following these strict rules.
Industry faces restructuring decision
Now, small and medium-sized companies that have built a global user base from Singapore are now facing a difficult choice: expand backward to serve only local customers, or move their headquarters outside the Singapore border.
For many, this may boil down to cost. The extra work required to perform a more stringent inspection may be more than the team just starting out can handle. Some business owners are worried that this will push talent away, as engineers and compliance personnel may follow a more friendly crypto-centric hub.
Large players, including established banks or impoverished startups that have already obtained other behavioral permissions, can be more suitable for surviving these changes.
Featured images from Unsplash, charts for TradingView
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