What each failure changed

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The following table pairs the principal failures with the rule or practice each produced. It is a simplification, because most changes had several causes, but it is the simplification that practitioners use.

Failure	Where	When	What changed
Envion	Zug	2018–2019	Confirmed that repayable tokens are deposits; FINMA enforcement against Zug companies with foreign operations
Libra / Diem	Geneva	2019–2022	FINMA stablecoin supplement; payment-system licence analysis; SNB attention to private money
Binance withdrawal	Singapore	2021	Signalled the height of the PSA licensing bar
Terra / UST	Singapore	May 2022	Stablecoin consultation; October 2022 framework proposals; 2023 final framework
Three Arrows Capital	Singapore	June 2022	Scrutiny of registered fund managers; AUM thresholds; FMC conditions tightened
Zipmex, Hodlnaut, Vauld	Singapore	July–Aug 2022	Case law on customer assets in insolvency; retail ban on lending and staking; segregation rules
FTX	Bahamas / global	Nov 2022	Segregation and cold-storage rules; "digital asset hub" doctrine; Temasek write-down
Credit Suisse	Zürich	Mar 2023	Banking Act review; stricter climate for bank-related licences
Staking uncertainty	Switzerland	Dec 2023	FINMA Guidance 08/2023; legislative clarification pending
FlowBank	Geneva	June 2024	First Swiss bank insolvency with crypto custody; test of Art. 16 BankA and Art. 242a DEBA
S$ 3 billion laundering case	Singapore	Aug 2023	Family-office and single-family-office reforms; bank de-risking; AML Act 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

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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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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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