The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has raised the risk level for crypto exchange platforms from medium-low to medium-high in accordance with an update to Singapore’s Terrorism Financing laws. The update, issued on July 1, aims to prevent terrorist groups from exploiting Singapore’s economic openness. Crypto exchange platforms, known as Digital Payment Token (DPT) service providers, have been identified as a medium-high risk, while cross-border online payments remain high risk due to their potential for terrorist financing activities. This adjustment comes after a recent report flagged digital payment tokens as high-risk.
Singapore has been at the forefront of crypto regulations, with MAS actively involved in regulating the digital asset market. The country expanded the scope of regulated payment services to include digital token service providers a few months ago, offering user protection and imposing stricter requirements on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. Singapore has a high crypto adoption rate, with an adoption rate of 11.2% compared to the global average of 4.2%. Under Singapore regulations, digital currencies are referred to as digital payment tokens (DPTs), and Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have been recognized as legal assets.