Venture capital, sovereign funds and talent

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Temasek, GIC and the venture arms of the banks have invested across the digital-asset industry. Temasek's write-off of its FTX investment in November 2022 led to a public review and to a reduction in the compensation of the team involved. It made the sovereign investor more selective. GIC's stake in Coinbase and Vertex Ventures' portfolio of infrastructure firms illustrate the continuing appetite for regulated and infrastructure businesses over token projects.¹

Singapore is also the Asian base of the blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs and of several protocol foundations organised as companies limited by guarantee. The Asian offices of the global law and accounting firms that serve the industry sit there too, together with a venture community concentrated around the FinTech Festival. The Festival has been held each November since 2016 and is organised by MAS with the Global Finance & Technology Network, the successor since 2024 to Elevandi. It is the week in which MAS announces its policy, so attendance is compulsory for anyone who wants to understand where Singapore is heading.²

Notes

Temasek statement of 17 November 2022 on its investment in FTX and the subsequent announcement of May 2023 on the outcome of its internal review; GIC's participation in Coinbase's 2018 funding round as reported at the time. ↩
Singapore FinTech Festival, held annually since November 2016; organised by MAS with Elevandi from 2021 and with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) from its establishment in November 2024. ↩

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 directly at [email protected] 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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