The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released a response document for the new regulations on Digital Token Service Providers (DTSP) on May 30, 2025, and many are unaware that this will actually impact the entire Asian Web3 industry landscape.
The new regulations will officially take effect on June 30, 2025, with MAS explicitly stating there will be no buffer period! A large-scale "Singapore Web3 Exodus" may have already quietly begun.
"We will be extremely cautious."
As MAS expresses this attitude without concealment in this stern consultation document, Singapore, once praised by global Web3 practitioners as an "Asian crypto-friendly paradise", is saying goodbye to its past in an unexpected way
- not through gradual policy adjustments, but through an almost "cliff-like" regulatory tightening.
For projects and institutions still waiting and watching, this may no longer be a question of "whether to leave", but a choice of "when to leave" and "where to go".
Past Glory: The Golden Age of Regulatory Arbitrage
Remember Singapore in 2021? When China completely banned cryptocurrency trading and the US SEC was wielding its regulatory hammer, this small island nation opened its arms to welcome Web3 entrepreneurs. Three Arrows Capital, Alameda Research, FTX Asia headquarters...
These prominent names chose to settle here, not just because of 0% capital gains tax, but also because of the "embracing innovation" stance displayed by MAS at that time.
Singapore was then considered a "regulatory arbitrage holy land" for the Web3 industry. Registering a company here allowed legal and compliant provision of digital asset services to global users outside Singapore, while enjoying the reputation of a financial center.
This "based in Singapore, serving the world" business model once attracted countless Web3 practitioners.
Now, Singapore's new DTSP regulations mean completely closing the door on regulatory friendliness, and their attitude can be summed up in one sentence:
Expel all Web3 industry participants without a license from Singapore.
What is DTSP? A definition that makes one "shudder"
DTSP, full name Digital Token Service Provider, according to Section 137 of the FSM Act and document 3.10, includes two types of entities:
I. Individuals or partnerships operating at business premises in Singapore;
II. Singapore companies conducting digital token service business overseas (regardless of whether the company is from Singapore or elsewhere)
This definition seems simple but is actually fraught with danger.
... [rest of the text continues]Conclusion: The End of Regulatory Arbitrage in Singapore
A terrifying reality emerges: Singapore is serious this time, aiming to "expel" all non-compliant entities, with almost any activity related to digital tokens potentially falling under regulatory scope.
Whether you are in a luxurious office or on a sofa at home, whether you are a CEO of a large company or a freelancer, as long as you are involved in digital token services.
Due to the numerous gray areas and ambiguous definitions of "business premises" and "conducting business", MAS is likely to adopt an "case-oriented" enforcement strategy—
First, kill a few chickens to warn the monkeys.
Hoping to embrace compliance at the last minute? Sorry, MAS clearly stated that it will review DTSP licenses with "extreme caution", and will only approve applications in
"extremely limited circumstances"
The era of regulatory arbitrage in Singapore has officially ended, and the era of big fish eating small fish has arrived.
