The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced tough new rules for crypto companies offering overseas services. Under the latest guidelines, digital token service providers (DTSPs) must stop all overseas operations by June 30, 2025, unless they are officially licensed — or face a fine of up to $200,000 and jail time of up to 3 years.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSM Act 2022), any Singapore-based entity — including individuals, businesses, and partnerships — providing digital token (DT) services to overseas users must either:
Failing to comply with this new framework will result in severe penalties: Up to SHD 250,000 (USD 200,000) fine Up to 3 years of imprisonment
The MAS aims to eliminate regulatory arbitrage, where crypto firms use Singapore as a legal base while operating freely in foreign markets without proper oversight.
This move is part of Singapore’s broader plan to strengthen financial integrity, protect its global reputation, and prevent misuse of its crypto-friendly image.
Section 137 of the FSM Act states that any business incorporated in Singapore is legally considered to be operating from Singapore, even if its customers are overseas.
This means companies can no longer bypass foreign rules while being based in Singapore. The MAS directive closes all backdoors, ensuring complete regulatory clarity.
With no grace period, no phased transition, and tough penalties, Singapore is sending a strong message: crypto regulation must be respected — locally and globally.
The FSM Act 2022 is an omnibus law in Singapore that provides a sector-wide regulatory framework for financial services and markets, consolidating existing powers and introducing new provisions for areas like digital token service providers to enhance oversight.
DTSPs are individuals, partnerships, or Singapore corporations providing digital token services (like dealing, exchanging, transferring, or safeguarding digital payment tokens or tokenized capital markets products) from Singapore to customers outside Singapore.
MAS is cracking down to eliminate regulatory arbitrage, where firms use Singapore as a base to serve foreign markets without oversight. This strengthens financial integrity and protects Singapore’s reputation against misuse.
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