Singapore’s Stablecoin Rulebook: How MAS Is Building Trusted Digital Money

Singapore’s approach to digital asset oversight has been deliberate and phased. It started early with the Payment Services Act 2019, which brought crypto services under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and became effective in January 2020. The Act regulated payment services broadly while pulling “digital payment token” services into scope with licensing, anti-money laundering, and operational requirements. The definition of a digital payment token in the Act is explicit: it is not denominated in any currency or pegged to any currency, and it can be transferred, stored, or traded electronically. This foundation matters because Singapore’s stablecoin rulebook builds on these earlier rails rather than replacing them.

Evidence of a clearer regulatory perimeter appears alongside industry growth. Tracxn data cited in coverage of Singapore’s crypto regulation notes that over 2,300 crypto and blockchain-related companies operate in Singapore, including 968 funded firms that have raised a combined $6.99 billion in capital. The regulatory net also widened in April 2022, when the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) extended oversight to Singapore-based firms serving overseas customers. That shift reduced the ability to rely on offshore client bases to avoid local regulation, and it supports MAS’s broader supervision of cross-border digital asset activities, including custody services for tokenized securities.

What MAS Requires for a “MAS-Regulated Stablecoin” Label

The current conversation about Singapore stablecoin regulation at MAS centers on a proposed Stablecoin Regulatory Framework under the Payment Services Act, including a new “Stablecoin Issuance Service.” MAS signaled plans for this on 15 August 2023. The scope is narrow by design: only single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore Dollar (SGD) or a G10 currency qualify, and issuers must be based in Singapore. Other stablecoins—such as those pegged to other assets or issued outside Singapore—remain under existing digital payment token rules, and may also fall under the Securities and Futures Act if treated as securities.

To use the “MAS-regulated stablecoin” label, issuers must meet prescriptive conditions intended to create trust and clear redemption rights. Reserve assets must always equal 100% of coins in circulation, with monthly independent checks and annual audits. Reserve assets must be segregated and held with approved custodians. Issuers must also meet solvency standards, with minimum base capital of S$1 million or 50% of annual operating costs, whichever is higher. Users must be able to redeem at par value within five business days. MAS also expects clear disclosures through a whitepaper that explains the stabilisation mechanism, risks, rights, and relevant audit results, alongside business restrictions that limit issuers to stablecoin issuance rather than lending or staking.

MAS is pairing rulemaking with trials aimed at tokenised finance. On 13 November 2025, MAS announced it would hold trials to issue tokenised MAS bills in 2026, while moving forward with laws to regulate stablecoins as part of building a scalable and secure tokenised financial ecosystem. Separately, the BLOOM initiative launched in October 2025 to support trials with tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins for settlement, including integration into payment rails and cross-border transactions. This sits within a global shift: commentary on 2026 regulation notes that the US, EU, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, and Japan now mandate full reserve backing, licensed issuers, and guaranteed redemption rights, signaling stablecoins are increasingly treated as regulated payment instruments rather than purely crypto assets.