All operations must be ceased by June 30, otherwise they will face criminal penalties. This statement released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on May 30 dropped a bombshell on the Asian Web3 circle.
Singapore, once known as a crypto safe haven, now takes a tough stance with a zero transition period and requires all unlicensed digital token service providers (DTSP) to withdraw completely. Sofas at home, shared desks, temporary booths - all of these are included in the broad definition of business premises by MAS. As long as a person is engaged in digital token-related business in Singapore, the service objects, whether at home or abroad, must be licensed and compliant, otherwise it will constitute a crime.
This article refers to the front-line observations of many local licensed institutions (including MetaComp, etc.) during the policy implementation process, and combines the original regulatory text with market feedback to try to rationally restore the policy logic, industry response and future direction behind this big cleanup. We believe that in addition to regulation, what is more worthy of attention is a deep reconstruction of financial infrastructure and trust mechanisms.
01 Iron-fisted clearing: Singapore’s radical shift in regulatory logic
At the heart of this regulatory storm is Section 137 of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSM Act). It ends Singapore’s history as a “regulatory arbitrage haven.” Under this provision, all individuals or institutions that have a place of business in Singapore and provide digital token services overseas must obtain a DTSP license.
The core of the new regulation is the penetrating supervision logic, marking the official start of MASs comprehensive supervision of local Web3 practitioners. MASs definition of digital token services covers almost all aspects of crypto business: token issuance, custody services, brokerage matching transactions, transfer payment services, verification and governance services, etc. are all included in the supervision.
No license? You have no choice but to leave. MAS clearly stated that those who do not have a license by then must immediately stop their overseas business; the “application in progress” status will not be accepted as the basis for legal existence.
Why is Singapore so determined? The core of the answer lies in the extreme defense of the countrys financial reputation. The FTX crash in 2022 caused losses to Singapores sovereign wealth fund Temasek, which seriously damaged Singapores financial reputation and became the direct fuse for policy tightening.
MAS repeatedly stressed in the document that digital token services have strong cross-border anonymity attributes and are easily used for illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Once these Singapore-based companies get into trouble, the country will face global public opinion and regulatory pressure.
02 Battle for survival: difficult choices for crypto companies
As soon as the new regulations came out, Web3 practitioners in Singapore quickly split into different camps.
The founder of a tokenized operating project admitted: Regulation should serve companies with mature business models and clear structures. For small teams, investing a lot of time and resources in dealing with regulators is almost an unbearable burden. He did not rule out the possibility of moving out of Singapore completely.
Applying for a DTSP license is no easy task. Companies need to have an initial capital of S$250,000, a resident compliance officer, an independent audit mechanism, and meet strict anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) requirements, which is a high threshold for start-ups.
However, local industry insiders who have lived in Singapore for many years hold a different view: In fact, Singapores regulatory policies in the Web3 field in recent years have not undergone a drastic shift, but more of a clarification and refinement of the existing framework.
MASs regulatory focus is on digital payment tokens (DPTs) and tokens with capital market attributes, while utility tokens and governance tokens are not currently among its regulatory core.
Individual practitioners have become a regulatory gray area. A practitioner who has been deeply involved in OTC transactions for many years said: MASs current goal is actually to use this wave of regulations to sound a wake-up call to some less standardized KOLs and scattered groups.
Recently, some KOLs and exchange practitioners have chosen to suspend their business, go out for travel or remain on the sidelines.
03 A Tale of Two Cities: The “battle for talent” between Hong Kong and Dubai—Is there really such a thing as a “paradise”?
When Singapore closed its doors, Hong Kong and Dubai opened their arms almost at the same time.
After the new regulations were introduced in Singapore, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council directly shouted on the social platform X: If you are currently engaged in related industries in Singapore and are interested in moving your headquarters and personnel to Hong Kong, I am willing to provide assistance and welcome you to develop in Hong Kong!
Hong Kong’s appeal is not only in its solicitation. On May 30, 2025, the same day that Singapore issued its new regulations, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government published the Stablecoin Ordinance in the Gazette, officially becoming the world’s first jurisdiction to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for fiat stablecoins.
The core innovation of the regulations lies in strict access, strong reserves, and guaranteed redemption: issuers are required to apply for a license with a minimum registered capital of HK$25 million; a 100% legal currency reserve + independent custody + monthly audit regulatory mechanism is implemented; and users are ensured to be able to redeem stablecoins at face value at any time.
At the same time, Dubai is attracting the attention of the global crypto community in an unprecedented manner. The popular phrase Habibi, Come to Dubai at the TOKEN 2049 conference has become a vivid portrayal of Dubais competition for crypto talents.
Dubai offers a highly competitive tax environment for businesses: companies with annual revenues below 3 million UAE dirhams (about $815,000) are exempt from corporate income tax. Dubai has also established the worlds first independent digital asset regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), which is committed to establishing a coherent and progressive regulatory environment.
But can we just open our arms and shout out caring and heartwarming words and rush forward without any scruples? I have serious doubts. First, the trend of globalization of supervision is becoming more and more obvious. It is impossible for a certain region or country to be independent of the trend and environment of globalization and only enjoy the dividends without abiding by the rules. If so, then this country or region will be automatically shielded by the globalization of supervision in the never-ending global capital flow, so no one dares to take the risk to undertake it unconditionally; secondly, whether it is Web3 or stablecoin, in essence, under the existing sovereign financial supervision and sovereign credit currency-dominated system, they have been pushed from silent passers-by to the spotlight all of a sudden. It is a normal way out and result for technological innovation and application to be absorbed. I am surprised why so many people are shocked and disappointed after seeing or hearing this information. The whole world still operates on the basis of rules and mutual credit tacit understanding. There is no so-called utopia world. Maybe this utopia is the ultimate home that some people yearn for. Sorry, not now, not at the moment, not the material world of Crypto!!!
04 Stablecoins and RWA: A Land of Opportunities in the New Regulatory Era - A Game of Changing Cages and Changing Birds
In this regulatory earthquake, stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) are becoming the areas with the most development potential.
The stablecoin market is experiencing explosive growth. According to Deutsche Bank data, the total market value of stablecoins was approximately US$20 billion in 2020, and by May 2025 it had soared to US$249.7 billion, an increase of more than 1,100% in five years.
In cross-border payment settlements, the activity of stablecoins continues to rise. Data shows that in the past 12 months, the settlement volume of stablecoins in cross-border payments has reached 2.5 trillion US dollars, ten times that of 2020.
At the same time, RWA (real-world asset tokenization) is becoming the next trillion-dollar market. As of early June 2025, the total value of on-chain RWA was US$23.1 billion (excluding stablecoins), an increase of more than 110% year-on-year.
Globally, the dominance of digital currency coinage rights is becoming the focus of competition among countries. In addition to Hong Kong, countries and regions such as the United States, the European Union, and Africa are also competing fiercely for the dominance of stablecoins.
The United States launched the GENIUS Act, attempting to incorporate stablecoins into the national strategic track to consolidate the dollars dominance in the global monetary system; the EUs Crypto Asset Market Regulation Act attempts to redefine the digital financial order with a unified regulatory framework.
05 The moat of license holders: strategic advantages in the new landscape - the price of trust, but also an opportunity for pioneers
In this regulatory transition, institutions that can overcome high barriers and successfully obtain licenses are gradually building clear barriers to competition. According to the MAS official website, so far, only 33 companies have obtained digital payment token (DPT) licenses, including Coinbase, Circle and MetaComp.
These institutions are no longer just service providers, but whitelist members who have completed identity verification first in the new financial order. MetaComp is one of them. As a large payment institution (MPI) authorized by MAS, MetaComp not only holds cross-border payment and DPT business licenses, but also has built a comprehensive compliance system covering multiple licenses such as payment, securities, custody, and derivatives with the support of its parent company Alpha Ladder Finance.
This architecture includes:
• Large Payment Institution (MPI) license, covering digital token payments and cross-border payment services;
• RMO (Recognized Market Operator) qualification;
• Multiple CMS (Capital Market Services) licenses, including securities trading, derivatives, collective investment schemes;
• Professional custody license, which can serve traditional capital market assets and asset tokens;
• And independent audit, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating Terrorist Financing (CFT) mechanisms.
The combination of these licenses enables it to not only legally provide stablecoin exchange and digital asset clearing, but also support the compliant issuance of real world asset (RWA) tokens, making it an extremely scarce financial infrastructure platform under the new regulatory environment.
It is worth noting that this trend is not limited to Singapore. Looking at the world, regulation is accelerating to extend to stablecoins and RWA. For example, the United States launched the GENIUS Act in 2024, attempting to incorporate stablecoins into the national strategic track to strengthen the global dominance of the US dollar; the European Union also passed the Crypto Asset Market Regulation Act (MiCA) to establish a unified regulatory framework. These signals together indicate that future digital financial participants must not only be technologically advanced, but also comply with regulations first.
In this context, compliance itself is becoming a new scarce resource with a very high threshold. MetaComp has established a cooperative network with licensed institutions around the world and has built a localized settlement foundation in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and South America. Combined with the self-developed StableX intelligent engine system, through AI and multi-currency path algorithms, it realizes the optimal routing and instant settlement between the US dollar and stablecoins, providing a high-efficiency and low-cost solution for global capital flows under compliance.
On the other hand, Alpha Ladder has started exploring RWA since 2021, and has successively launched projects such as carbon neutral tokens and money fund tokens, building an end-to-end issuance platform from structural design, legal compliance to custody auditing, focusing on serving green finance, traditional securities and cross-border asset chain.
These layouts are not market gimmicks, but strategic constructions based on rigorous compliance and years of practical experience. In the next decade, as the GENIUS Act and the supervision of various countries deepen in parallel, compliance capabilities will become a watershed in the industry. Pioneers with pre-licenses, solid payment networks and RWA issuance structures are expected to define rules and move forward steadily in the new round of global digital financial order.
