Crypto-assets: From the Payment Services Act to Project Guardian: practical consequences

For firms seeking to operate in Singapore

A firm that wishes to offer services in crypto-assets from Singapore must first determine which statute applies. Services relating to digital payment tokens provided to customers in Singapore require a licence under the Payment Services Act. Services relating to tokenised securities or units in tokenised funds fall under the Securities and Futures Act and, where advice is given, under the Financial Advisers Act. Services provided only to customers outside Singapore require a licence under Part 9 of the Financial Services and Markets Act, which in practice will not be granted. The licensing process is long and demanding, since the authority examines the substance of the firm in Singapore, its controls against money laundering and its technology risk management.

For wealth managers and family offices

For private banks, external asset managers and family offices, the practical question is how to hold and manage crypto-assets for clients. The safest route is through a bank or a licensed custodian that segregates client assets in trust under the rules in force since October 2024. The decision in ByBit confirms that the client retains a property right in the tokens, which survives the insolvency of the custodian if the assets are properly segregated. Family offices that invest in crypto-assets must consider the conditions of the tax incentives under sections 13O and 13U of the Income Tax Act, described in Chapter E.III, and the reporting of such holdings under international tax transparency standards, examined in Chapter E.II.

Checklist

Classify each token and each service: digital payment token, capital markets product, utility or governance token, or stablecoin within the MAS single-currency framework.
Identify where the customers are: services to Singapore customers fall under the Payment Services Act or the Securities and Futures Act, while services provided only abroad from Singapore fall under Part 9 of the Financial Services and Markets Act.
Check whether the counterparty holds a licence and for which activities, using the Financial Institutions Directory of the Monetary Authority and its Investor Alert List.
Verify that customer assets are segregated and held in trust, and obtain the written disclosures on storage policy and the handling of losses.
For retail clients, document the risk awareness assessment and refrain from incentives, credit and leverage.
Apply the full anti-money laundering programme, including the transmission of originator and beneficiary information with transfers of tokens.
Treat a stablecoin as “MAS-regulated” only if it carries that recognition, and follow the implementation of the legislative amendments consulted on in September 2026.
For tokenised securities and funds, align documentation with the Guardian frameworks and check the settlement asset used.

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 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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