After Singapore’s Web3 cleanup, invisible players emerge

"All business must be stopped before June 30, otherwise there will be criminal penalties." This statement issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on May 30th dropped a bombshell in the Asian Web3 circle.

Singapore, once known as a "crypto safe haven", now takes a tough stance with a zero transition period and requires all unlicensed digital token service providers (DTSP) to withdraw completely. Sofas, shared desks, temporary booths at home - these are all included in the broad definition of "business premises" by MAS. As long as a person is engaged in digital token-related business in Singapore, the service objects, whether at home or abroad, must be licensed and compliant, otherwise it constitutes a crime.

This article refers to the front-line observations of many local licensed institutions (including MetaComp, etc.) during the policy implementation process, and combines the original regulatory text with market feedback to try to rationally restore the policy logic, industry response and future direction behind this big cleanup. We believe that in addition to regulation, what is more worthy of attention is a deep reconstruction of financial infrastructure and trust mechanism.

01 Iron-fisted clearing: a complete shift in Singapore's regulatory logic

The core of this regulatory storm is Section 137 of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSM Act). It ended Singapore's history as a "regulatory arbitrage paradise". According to this clause, all individuals or institutions that have business premises in Singapore and provide digital token services overseas must obtain a DTSP license.

The core of the new regulations is the "penetrating supervision" logic, marking the official start of MAS's comprehensive supervision of local Web3 practitioners. MAS's definition of "digital token services" covers almost all aspects of crypto business: token issuance, custody services, brokerage matching transactions, transfer payment services, verification and governance services, etc. are all included in the supervision.

No license? Only leave. MAS clearly pointed out that those who have not yet obtained a license must immediately stop their overseas business; the "application in progress" status will not be accepted as the basis for legal existence.

Why is Singapore so determined? The core of the answer lies in the ultimate defense of the country's "financial reputation". The FTX crash in 2022 caused losses to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, causing serious damage to Singapore's financial reputation and becoming a direct fuse for policy tightening.

MAS repeatedly emphasized in the document that digital token services have strong cross-border anonymity attributes and are easily used for illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Once these Singapore-based companies "get into trouble", the country will face global public opinion and regulatory pressure.

02 Battle for survival: a difficult choice for crypto companies

As soon as the new regulations came out, Web3 practitioners in Singapore quickly split into different camps.

The founder of a tokenized operation project admitted: "Regulation should serve companies with mature business models and clear structures. For small teams, investing a lot of time and resources in dealing with regulation is almost an unbearable burden." He did not rule out the possibility of moving out of Singapore completely.

Applying for a DTSP license is not easy. Companies need to have an initial capital of 250,000 Singapore dollars, a resident compliance officer, an independent audit mechanism, and meet strict anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) requirements, which is a high threshold for start-ups.

However, local industry insiders who have lived in Singapore for many years hold a different view: "In fact, Singapore's regulatory policies in the field of Web3 in recent years have not undergone a drastic shift. It is more about clarifying and refining the existing framework.

MAS's regulatory focus is on digital payment tokens (DPTs) and tokens with capital market attributes, while utility tokens and governance tokens are not currently among its regulatory core.

Individual practitioners have become a regulatory gray area. A practitioner who has been deeply involved in OTC transactions for many years said: "MAS's current goal is actually to use this wave of regulations to sound a wake-up call to some less standardized KOLs and scattered groups.

Recently, some KOLs and exchange practitioners have chosen to suspend their business, go out to travel or wait and see.

03 A Tale of Two Cities: The “Battle for Talent” between Hong Kong and Dubai – Is there really a “paradise”?

When Singapore closed its doors, Hong Kong and Dubai opened their arms almost at the same time.

After the new regulations were introduced in Singapore, a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong directly shouted on the social platform X: "If you are currently engaged in related industries in Singapore and intend to move your headquarters and personnel to Hong Kong, I am willing to provide assistance and welcome you to develop in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong's attractiveness is not only in its solicitation posture. On May 30, 2025, the same day that Singapore issued new regulations, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government published the "Stablecoin Ordinance" in the Gazette, officially becoming the world's first jurisdiction to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for legal currency stablecoins.

The core innovation of the ordinance lies in strict access, strong reserves, and guaranteed redemption: requiring issuers to apply for a license with a minimum registered capital of HK$25 million; implementing a regulatory mechanism of "100% legal currency reserves + independent custody + monthly audits"; and ensuring that users can redeem stablecoins at face value at any time.

Dubai provides companies with a very competitive tax environment: companies with annual income of less than 3 million UAE dirhams (about 815,000 US dollars) are exempt from corporate income tax. Dubai has also established the world's first independent digital asset regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), which is committed to establishing a consistent and progressive regulatory environment.

04 Stablecoins and RWA: A Land of Opportunities in the New Regulatory Era - A Game of Changing Cages

In this regulatory earthquake, stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) are becoming the most promising areas for development.

The stablecoin market is experiencing explosive growth. According to Deutsche Bank data, the total market value of stablecoins was approximately US$20 billion in 2020, and it has soared to US$249.7 billion by May 2025, an increase of more than 1,100% in five years.

In cross-border payment settlements, the activity of stablecoins continues to rise. Data shows that in the past 12 months, the settlement volume of stablecoins in cross-border payments has reached US$2.5 trillion, ten times that of 2020.

Globally, the dominance of the "coinage right" of digital currency is becoming the focus of competition among countries. In addition to Hong Kong, countries and regions such as the United States, the European Union, and Africa are also competing fiercely for the dominance of stablecoins.

The United States introduced the "GENIUS Act" in an attempt to incorporate stablecoins into the national strategic track to consolidate the dominance of the US dollar in the global monetary system; the EU's "Crypto Asset Market Regulation Act" attempts to redefine the digital financial order with a unified regulatory framework.

05 The moat of licensees: strategic advantages under the new pattern-the cost of trust is also an opportunity for pioneers

These institutions are no longer just service providers, but "white list" members that have completed identity verification first in the new financial order. MetaComp is one of them. As a large payment institution (MPI) authorized by MAS, MetaComp not only holds cross-border payment and DPT business licenses, but also, with the support of its parent company Alpha Ladder Finance, has built a comprehensive compliance system covering multiple licenses such as payment, securities, custody, and derivatives.

This architecture includes:

· Large payment institution (MPI) license, covering digital token payment and cross-border payment services;

· RMO (Recognized Market Operator) qualification;

· Multiple CMS (Capital Market Services) licenses, including securities trading, derivatives, and collective investment plans;

· Professional custody license, which can serve traditional capital market assets and asset tokens;

· As well as independent audit, anti-money laundering (AML), and combating terrorist financing (CFT) mechanisms.

The combination of these licenses enables it to not only legally provide stablecoin exchange and digital asset liquidation, but also support the compliant issuance of real world asset (RWA) tokens, becoming a very scarce financial infrastructure platform under the new regulatory environment.

Against this background, compliance itself is becoming a "new scarce resource" with extremely high barriers to entry. MetaComp has established a cooperative network with licensed institutions around the world and has built a localized settlement foundation in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and South America. Combined with the self-developed StableX intelligent engine system, through AI and multi-currency path algorithms, the optimal routing and instant settlement between the US dollar and stablecoins are achieved, providing efficient and low-cost solutions for global capital flows under compliance.

On the other hand, Alpha Ladder has been exploring RWA since 2021, and has successively launched projects such as carbon neutral tokens and money fund tokens, building an end-to-end issuance platform from structural design, legal compliance to custody auditing, focusing on serving green finance, traditional securities and cross-border asset chain.

These layouts are not market gimmicks, but strategic constructions based on rigorous compliance and years of practical experience. In the next decade, as the GENIUS Act and the supervision of various countries deepen in parallel, compliance capabilities will become a watershed in the industry. Pioneers with pre-licenses, solid payment networks and RWA issuance structures are expected to define rules and move forward steadily in the new round of global digital financial order.