Singapore Tightens the Screws: Crypto Firms Race Against New Licensing Deadline

Regulators just dropped a ticking time bomb on Singapore’s crypto scene. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)—never one to miss a chance to flex its oversight muscles—has set a hard deadline for digital asset firms to fall in line or get out.

No more ’transitional period’ limbo. Companies that spent the last two years dragging their feet on compliance now face a brutal ultimatum: submit polished license applications by Q3 or start packing. The MAS isn’t playing nice with crypto cowboys anymore.

Behind the bureaucratic curtain? A calculated move to purge the market of half-baked operators while maintaining Singapore’s veneer of being a ’crypto-friendly’ hub. Because nothing says innovation like drowning startups in paperwork—just ask the three firms that already folded this month.

Smart money says this shakeout leaves only the well-connected players standing. After all, in finance, the house always wins—even when it’s dressed up as progressive regulation.