DeFi, NFTs and DAOs in Singapore: the Swiss comparison

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Switzerland and Singapore have reached the same place on DeFi by different routes. Both ask whether an identifiable person controls the protocol and profits from it. The Federal Council's December 2022 report on DeFi and FINMA's practice treat the operator of a front-end or the holder of administrative keys as a financial intermediary under the AMLA. Depending on the activity, that person may also need a licence under FinIA or the Banking Act (see Part E, Chapter IX). Singapore reaches the same conclusion through the expanded DPT service and Part 9 of the FSMA. Neither country has offered a safe harbour for "sufficiently decentralised" protocols. Neither has brought an enforcement action against a pure protocol.

On NFTs the two regimes are aligned: outside regulation unless the token is in substance a security or a collective investment. On DAOs Switzerland has the better wrappers and the deeper practice, while Singapore has the CLG and a growing body of experience from the 2022 insolvencies. A protocol founder choosing between the hubs for the governance entity should choose Zug for the foundation and may choose Singapore for operations. A founder who has already set up a Singapore CLG with the treasury inside it should consider whether the treasury's dealings bring the CLG within Part 9 of the FSMA. Moving the treasury to a Swiss foundation before the CLG's dealings attract a licensing question it cannot answer is often the better course.

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.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

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.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For Hong Kong, our parallel site HongkongIQ.com offers the same practical guidance. For crypto and digital assets, dltreg.com covers legal, tax and fiduciary services. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.