Classification in practice: a decision sequence

Checklist

Apply the following steps, in order, to any token and record the answer to each: 1. Does the holder have a claim against any identifiable person? If yes, go to step 2. If no, the token is a payment or utility token (Switzerland) and a DPT if it is used as a medium of exchange (Singapore). 2. Is the claim for money in a fixed currency? If yes, the token is a stablecoin and Chapter IV applies. 3. Is the claim for a share of profits, assets or a pool? If yes, the token is an asset token (Switzerland), a capital markets product (Singapore) and a financial instrument (EU). 4. Is the claim for access to a service that exists now? If yes, the token is a utility token and outside securities law in all three systems, subject to AMLA and PSA consequences if it also serves as payment. 5. Is the service not yet live? If so, treat the token as an asset token in Switzerland until it is. 6. Does the token confer voting rights only? Examine whether the vote can allocate economic value to holders and whether it has done so. 7. Is the token unique and non-fungible? Examine what it represents and whether it is part of a series or fractionalised. 8. Date the analysis and diarise a review when the protocol changes.

The steps are deliberately simple. The difficulty in practice lies in establishing the facts at step 1, which requires the technical review set out at the end of Chapter I, and in resisting a client's wish to be told that a token is a utility token when its white paper promises price appreciation.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

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KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

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