Crypto License in Singapore
One of the most respected — and hardest to earn — authorisations in digital assets, granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
A crypto license in Singapore ranks among the most respected authorisations a digital-asset business can hold. Behind it stands the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) — a regulator whose approval opens doors to banks, institutional partners and payment networks worldwide. It is also one of the hardest crypto licences to obtain, which is exactly why it carries commercial value.
AMS Europe supports founders and international companies through the full path: from weighing a new application against a ready-made crypto company in Singapore to drafting the MAS dossier and staffing the local compliance function.
Why crypto businesses choose Singapore
Weight with counterparties
A firm under MAS oversight is rarely second-guessed. Whether you operate a trading venue, a brokerage, an OTC desk or custody infrastructure, the permit doubles as a sales argument in talks with banks and institutional money.
Tax rules without surprises
Companies pay a flat 17% on profit, while capital gains escape taxation altogether. GST does not touch exchanges of digital payment tokens either — the Inland Revenue Authority (IRAS) has confirmed this treatment.
Infrastructure that actually works
Fintech engineers, Big Four audit teams and niche legal advisers all work within one city, and the whole of Asia-Pacific lies a short flight away — an environment cheaper jurisdictions cannot copy.
Incorporation measured in days
ACRA turns a Pte Ltd around almost overnight, so the legal entity never holds the project back. Everything is decided at the licensing stage instead.
AMS Europe service plans and fees
Two routes to a licensed digital-asset business in Singapore: a full new MAS application, or the acquisition of a ready-made crypto company.
Price
from €55,000
A full-scope project typically closes somewhere between €55,000 and €150,000 — where exactly depends on how intricate the model is, how many payment services you request and how the group is built. Regulatory capital and state fees sit outside this budget.
What the package covers:
- registration of the Pte Ltd;
- testing each revenue stream against the Payment Services Act 2019;
- the full dossier: business plan, financial forecasts, in-house AML/CFT rules aligned with Notice PSN02, papers on technology risk and cyber defence;
- walking the file through examination and the go-live phase once the green light arrives.
Price
from €3,500
One thing needs saying upfront: here, buying ready-made is no shortcut to cheaper authorisation. Two entirely different products hide behind the label.
Option A — shelf entity without a permit: from €3,500. A clean, pre-registered Pte Ltd prepared for digital-asset activity. Shares, registered address and corporate papers change hands within a week or two. However, you save only days of incorporation time — the application itself still runs as a complete Plan 1 project, so the overall spend ends up almost identical.
Option B — a company already holding a MAS permit: price on request. Genuinely quick to launch — and priced accordingly, several times above a fresh filing. The regulator clears incoming controllers beforehand, buyers undergo the suitability checks anew, and the transaction is run as classic M&A with deep due diligence.
Additional support for digital-asset operators
Substance and hiring
We find and onboard the resident executive director plus the management-level compliance specialist the supervisor wants to see employed.
Outsourced compliance function
An experienced MLRO, monitoring architecture and tooling for the travel rule.
Crypto accounting
Reconciling on-chain movements with fiat records, statements and tax filings.
Banking introductions
Account opening assistance for supervised digital-asset firms.
Independent AML check-up
A rehearsal of your framework before the regulator or auditors get to it.
AMS approach to crypto licensing
Dossiers built for MAS scrutiny
Every file is assembled around your actual token flows and written to survive several rounds of regulator questions.
Zero template paperwork
Copied dossiers do not pass here. We draft policies around the way your business really runs — no borrowed samples from the internet.
Fit-and-proper preparation
Owners and management get coached for interviews and background checks long before they sit across from the regulator.
By your side up to the decision
Filing is the midpoint of our engagement, not the end. We co-write the answers to every follow-up wave until the verdict arrives.
Honest jurisdiction advice
Lower refusal and banking risk
Working this way trims the probability of refusal, endless remediation loops and bank onboarding failures once authorised.
Crypto license in Singapore step by step
The licensing journey runs through clear checkpoints — from scoping to launch. Below are the key stages with realistic timelines.
Scoping and gap review
Estimated timeframe: 1–2 weeks
Your services get mapped onto the regulated perimeter, and the right class is settled before any money goes into drafting.
Includes:
- analysis of token flows and revenue streams
- the choice between the Standard and the Major Payment Institution class, driven by volumes
- a workable budget plus the project roadmap
Corporate setup
Estimated timeframe: ~1 week
Setting up the Pte Ltd via ACRA — or handing over a shelf entity — fully remote.
Includes:
- incorporation or share transfer
- registered office address
- a first staffing plan for local substance
Dossier preparation
Estimated timeframe: 1–3 months
Every element of the application package gets drafted and stress-tested before anything reaches the regulator.
Includes:
- a business plan with financial projections
- AML/CFT documentation matched to Notice PSN02
- files on technology risk and cyber resilience
- fit-and-proper proof for shareholders and directors
Examination by the regulator
Estimated timeframe: six months to a year (intricate cases run longer)
Question rounds arrive in waves — we co-write the answers with you rather than leaving you alone with the queries.
Includes:
- responses to every request from the authority
- policy updates where the review demands them
- preparation for interviews with the supervision team
Launch after approval
Estimated timeframe: 2–4 weeks
The company switches from applicant to supervised operator.
Includes:
- capital confirmation
- contracts with auditors and the reporting calendar
- activation of monitoring plus team training
MAS crypto licence: core requirements
MAS grants a crypto licence to firms that can prove real readiness: sufficient capital, a working AML framework, credible governance and genuine local substance.
Capital & financial safeguards
The standard tier asks for S$100,000 of base capital; S$250,000 — together with a security deposit — applies to the major tier. Once monthly volumes cross S$3 million on one service, or S$6 million overall, the upgrade stops being optional.
Working AML framework
Notice PSN02 must live in daily operations, not in a binder: verifying clients, watching transfers, applying the travel rule, filing suspicious activity reports.
Governance & key functions
A board that inspires confidence, compliance leadership at management grade, annual audit cycles and technology controls reflecting how distributed ledgers actually behave.
Directors & local substance
The board must include an executive director holding local citizenship or permanent residency. Add a physical office and staff genuinely working from it.
Customer asset protection
Following the 2024 reform, client assets sit in a statutory trust. Meanwhile, lending and staking of retail customers’ tokens face restrictions.
Ownership transparency
Beneficiaries must be documented without gaps. Every future change of control again needs the regulator’s advance blessing.
WHY APPLICATIONS
GET STUCK
Four failure patterns dominate our case reviews — and a pre-submission audit by people who know the regulator’s actual questions removes most of them.
Copied AML policies that do not reflect your token flows?
Local substance that exists only on paper?
Serving foreign clients only?
Buying a “licensed shelf company” that may not survive a change-of-control review?
Weighing up a crypto license in Singapore — or an EU alternative?
AMS Europe will stress-test your business model, put a realistic figure and calendar on the project, prepare the paperwork and manage the licensing or acquisition from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions about the crypto license in Singapore
Who grants crypto licences in Singapore?
A single institution — the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Firms with domestic customers operate within the Payment Services Act, whereas purely export-oriented providers fall inside the DTSP chapter of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022.
What does a crypto license in Singapore cost?
Turnkey professional support opens at roughly €55,000 and can approach €150,000 for sophisticated models; capital of S$100,000–S$250,000 and official fees come separately.
How long does the whole journey take?
The corporate part takes days; the dossier, one to three months; examination, six to twelve. Plan for nine to fifteen months door to door.
Is a ready-made purchase cheaper than a new application?
No. A shelf entity at roughly €3,500 only shortens the registration step. An already-licensed company is the expensive route: an M&A deal, pre-approved buyers and a valuation several times a fresh project.
Do I need authorisation if every client is abroad?
Yes. Export-only providers have needed a DTSP permit since 30 June 2025, and approvals are promised only in rare situations. For most teams, a European licence is the realistic road.