The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted crypto exchange Bitstamp a license to provide services to residents of the Southeast Asian country, the company announced on Thursday.
Bitstamp’s license is part of the exchange’s broader expansion into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the company said.
In June, MAS ordered all crypto exchanges serving overseas customers to get licensed or face expulsion, imprisonment, and financial penalties. The regulator also warned that obtaining a license would be very difficult. MAS officials wrote:
“MAS has set the bar high for licensing and will generally not issue a license. The money laundering risks are higher in such business models and if their substantive regulated activity is outside of Singapore, MAS is unable to effectively supervise such persons.”
Singapore’s new regulatory policy sparked concern among crypto firms located in the country, as the deadline to stop operating in Singapore without a license was Monday, putting the future of some crypto firms in doubt.
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Singapore is an international crypto hub, despite low local adoption
Singapore is emerging as a crypto hub in the APAC region alongside Hong Kong, a special economic zone that acts as a regulatory sandbox, bridging mainland China to global digital currency markets.
Innovation-friendly regulations and a focus on robust consumer protections attracted a torrent of crypto firms to Singapore in 2024. MAS approved twice as many crypto business applications that year as in 2023.
Despite the surge of international crypto and Web3 firms setting up shop in the country and a high degree of digital asset awareness, local adoption of crypto remains low.
Approximately 94% of Singaporeans are aware of at least one digital asset, according to the Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index Singapore 2025 study. At the same time, only 29% said that they currently or previously owned crypto.
Unsurprisingly, 68% of the crypto owners hold Bitcoin (BTC), the first cryptocurrency and the largest by market capitalization.
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