On May 30, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officially released the final policy guidelines for 'Digital Token Service Providers (DTSP)', with a very strong stance: all cryptocurrency service providers registered or operating in Singapore must stop providing services to overseas clients by June 30, 2025 if they have not obtained a DTSP license. This means that Singapore's position as the Asia-Pacific cryptocurrency center is greatly challenged, and after Hong Kong passed the stablecoin bill, it is gradually becoming the new center for cryptocurrency in the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang posted on social media to attract Singapore cryptocurrency practitioners to settle in Hong Kong.
According to the final regulatory response document on DTSP issued by Singapore MAS, the most stringent key points are:
1. Comprehensive regulation of cross-border business: Regardless of whether the service targets are local Singapore clients or overseas clients, as long as digital token-related businesses are conducted within Singapore, a DTSP license must be obtained, directly cutting off the previous regulatory arbitrage path of 'registered in Singapore but only serving overseas clients'.
2. The definition of business premises is extremely broad: MAS defines 'business premises' as 'any location in Singapore used by a licensee to conduct business', even including movable stalls. This definition almost covers all possible business locations, regardless of size.
3. Dual coverage for individuals and institutions: The regulatory targets include both individuals or partnerships operating in business premises in Singapore, as well as Singapore companies conducting digital token service businesses outside of Singapore, achieving full coverage of entities.
But why did Singapore MAS suddenly strike hard? In 2022, Singapore MAS issued the (Financial Services and Markets Act), where the ninth part is the regulation of cryptocurrencies, and then conducted multiple public consultations and drafts for opinions. The document on May 30 is a response to the consultation, detailing specific regulatory methods, regulations, notices, and DTSP licensing guidelines.
According to the consultation document, the core consideration of MAS is that 'some cryptocurrency businesses may damage Singapore's reputation'. The most important trigger was the 2022 collapse of FTX, which severely damaged Singapore's financial reputation. I need not elaborate on what position Temasek holds in Singapore. The then Singapore Finance Minister, Lawrence Wong (now Prime Minister), publicly stated that this investment caused reputational damage, and Temasek subsequently imposed salary reductions on the investment team and senior management.
In November 2022, I accurately predicted SBF's collapse three days in advance through insider information combined with public market analysis, sounding the death knell for SBF.
At the same time, when a whale falls, all things thrive. The collapse of SBF also sounded the horn for the end of the cryptocurrency bear market in 2021 and the arrival of a new bull market. After SBF's collapse, I publicly announced a heavy investment in BTC at 16,000 dollars in November 2022, directly pointing out that - the US stock market and cryptocurrency have reached the end of the bear market, while others panic, I am greedy.
For details, see my previous Zhihu answer (The curtain falls on the former cryptocurrency giant SBF case, FTX founder Bankman sentenced to 25 years, fined $11 billion, what information is worth paying attention to?).
In addition to deeply participating in the application for the Hong Kong stablecoin license, I will also be doing some things in Hong Kong this year. Hong Kong is an inseparable part of China and is also one of the most important bridges for communication between the East and the West.