July 01, 2025
By Our Correspondent
With Singapore and Hong Kong, two of its main hubs, adopting different legal trajectories, the Asian cryptocurrency scene is witnessing a dramatic shift. In an effort to close a long-standing regulatory gap, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has confirmed that Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs) that only serve clients in other countries now need to hold a full license.
Many people believe that this action, which has been hinted at since 2023, is a direct reaction to the well-publicized failures of Terraform Labs and Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Although these companies had a little operational presence despite having Singaporean legal domiciles, the MAS suffered considerable harm to its brand yet had no regulatory monitoring.
By implementing this new regulation, Singapore is essentially putting a stop to the practice of utilizing the city-state as a paper headquarters by sending a message that any company hoping to capitalize on its solid image must comply with its stringent regulatory structure.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, is aggressively establishing itself as a global center for Web3 innovation and digital assets. In a recent key policy announcement, the government reaffirmed its commitment to establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework that is supervised by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization is one of the initiative’s main goals. The government intends to encourage the development and trade of tokenized assets, such as bonds, and will evaluate the legal framework for doing so.
This forward-thinking approach is appropriate given that, according to a RedStone and RWA research, the RWA industry has expanded by 380% in the last three years, reaching a $24 billion market size. xyz. This difference creates obvious opportunities for traders: Hong Kong is developing a growth-oriented environment focused on innovative uses such RWA tokenization, whereas Singapore promotes stability and risk mitigation.
