MAS-Licensed Crypto Exchanges in Singapore: Approved…

Singapore's Monetary Authority has granted 38 Major Payment Institution licences for digital payment token services as of September 2026, according to the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. The figure is the outcome of a multi-year review: roughly 170 firms applied, MAS had formally rejected only two and seen 30 withdrawn as of July 2021, with most of the remainder never clearing the process.

The licence holders span retail trading venues, institutional custody providers and payment firms. Consumer-facing names include Coinbase, Crypto.com (operating as Foris DAX Asia), OKX Singapore, Independent Reserve, Bitstamp by Robinhood and Upbit, while PayPal and Revolut also hold digital payment token licences. Institutional-focused licensees include BitGo, Anchorage Digital, GSR Markets, Hex Trust, Sygnum and QCP Capital. Circle is licensed for its stablecoin and payment infrastructure, and DBS Vickers Securities represents traditional banking's entry into the licensed crypto sector. Blockchain.com, HashKey and MetaComp also appear on the broader list. A licence, however, does not guarantee retail access: many licensees serve only institutional or accredited investors, and deposit thresholds vary widely. Coinbase expanded its Singapore team to about 200 staff, reflecting the compliance cost involved.

Capital, Custody and Travel Rule Obligations

The Payment Services Act 2019 requires every digital payment token service provider to hold either a Standard or Major Payment Institution licence, with the category determined by monthly transaction volumes. Firms exceeding SGD 3 million in monthly transactions for one payment service, or SGD 6 million across two or more, must apply for the Major licence. A Major Payment Institution must maintain minimum base capital of SGD 250,000, and the Act imposes detailed anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing duties, including customer due diligence from the first transaction, risk-based assessments, ongoing monitoring and suspicious transaction reporting. Travel Rule compliance for inter-platform transfers has been mandatory under MAS Notice PSN02 since January 2020, most recently revised in 2024 and 2025. Licensed firms must segregate customer assets, use separate blockchain addresses and reconcile daily, and keep 90 percent of customer assets in offline cold wallets.

Singapore also bars licensed exchanges from offering yield-generating lending and staking products to retail customers, reserving them for institutional and accredited investors. That restriction followed the collapse of several crypto lenders, including Singapore-based Hodlnaut. Stablecoin issuers require separate licensing and must hold full asset reserves with par-value redemption, as Circle does for USDC in Singapore. Marketing to retail is also constrained, including limits on trivialising trading risks.

Traders should verify licence type and number directly against the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, since third-party lists can lag revocations. Fees, supported pairs, fiat on-ramps, withdrawal times and insurance coverage vary even among licensed platforms. MAS has signalled further updates on tokenised securities and digital asset derivatives, with consultation papers on stablecoin regulation and cross-border payment token transfers suggesting new licensing categories may emerge.