Singapore to Crypto Firms: No License, No Overseas Ops

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Singapore to Crypto Firms: No License, No Overseas Business

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: June 02, 2025

Key Takeaways

Singapore-based crypto firms must halt overseas token services or get licensed by June 30, 2025, per MAS rules;
Firms offering token services abroad are still considered local operators under Section 137 and need a license;
MAS warns of strict penalties and rare license approvals due to money laundering and terrorism financing concerns.

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Singapore has told crypto firms based in the country to stop offering digital token services to customers overseas unless they have the right license.

The deadline to comply is June 30, 2025. The announcement came from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which had been reviewing feedback on its proposed rules for Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs) under the Financial Services and Markets Act passed in 2022.

According to MAS, any person or company operating from Singapore that provides these services outside the country will need a license to continue.

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The authority explained that companies offering such services abroad are still seen as operating from Singapore, even if that work is not their main activity. These firms fall under Section 137 of the law, which requires a license.

MAS said those who continue without a license could face fines of up to 250,000 Singapore dollars (about 200,000 US dollars) and as much as three years in prison.

Lawyer Hagen Rooke, a partner at the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, said in a LinkedIn post:

The MAS will grant licences under the new framework only in extremely limited circumstances.

He explained this is due to concerns about risks tied to money laundering and terrorism financing.

Some businesses that already have licenses under other financial laws, such as the Securities and Futures Act, Financial Advisers Act, or Payment Services Act, can keep operating without breaking the new rules.

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