Singapore is no ‘crypto hub’ — but it is serious about stablecoins: StraitX CEO

This week’s Asia Express features a Q&A on how Singapore’s crypto landscape has shifted since the licensing deadline.

Before the summer of 2025, Singapore was a key base for cryptocurrency companies engaging in regulatory arbitrage.

While the city-state barred unlicensed companies from serving local users, many businesses sidestepped the rules by simply blocking Singaporean customers and serving overseas ones.

That changed after regulators forced companies to either obtain a license or find a new home. StraitX CEO Tianwei Liu’s company is the major player in stablecoin payments on the island and issues XSGD and XUSD. He tells Magazine that the directive reduced speculative retail activity while leaving more serious institutional players behind.

Magazine spoke with Liu about how Singapore’s crypto landscape has shifted since the licensing deadline, and how stablecoin adoption is expanding across Asia.

The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Magazine: Has Singapore’s regulatory tightening affected the crypto scene on the ground?

Liu: From an insider perspective, MAS has been very consistent.

They have never used the term “crypto hub.” They talk about being a digital asset hub or a blockchain hub. The focus is on real-world applications, not speculative activity. They want companies to build useful applications that solve real-world problems.

Speculative activity has always been discouraged. That’s part of Singapore’s broader philosophy. If you compare SGX to Hong Kong Exchange, Singapore is more conservative. It avoids speculative instruments like high-leverage and margin-heavy products.

This carries over into crypto as well.

The situation where companies were asked to leave was not sudden. There were about three years of public consultations. Companies were given early notice and time to comply.

The issue was companies that wanted to base themselves in Singapore but not be regulated there, while serving overseas customers. That was a loophole that got patched.

They were told clearly: either get regulated and operate properly, or leave.

Magazine: What has actually changed for the local crypto ecosystem?

Liu: Some players have left, especially more aggressive exchanges and projects focused on speculative activity. But this is not just Singapore. This is happening globally.

If you look at previous cycles, there were ICOs, then [non-fungible tokens], and now those groups are much less active. Even in places like Dubai, where people thought those players would move, they are no longer as prominent.

So this is more of an industry-wide shift than something specific to Singapore.

At the same time, the ecosystem has strengthened.

We are seeing more institutional adoption. Banks and major companies are coming in and using these technologies in production.

Companies like Grab and major banks are integrating these systems. This is not theoretical. It is happening every day.

Magazine: Has the energy changed compared to before?

Liu: It depends on how you define energy. If you are talking about speculative hype, then yes, that has gone down.

But if you are talking about real-world adoption, it has increased significantly.

From our perspective, the growth has been very strong. We’ve seen about 40x growth in transaction volume and 80x growth in cards issued over the past 12 months.

So the industry has shifted. It is less about hype cycles now and more about real applications and real usage.

Magazine: How do you see Singapore compared to Hong Kong as crypto hubs?

Liu: We call it healthy competition.

Singapore has been very consistent in its approach. Hong Kong said they wanted to move faster and even go one step ahead by opening up to more applicants, but they have missed their own stablecoin license timelines, which makes it a bit inconsistent. [The first licenses were subsequently issued this week]

From Singapore’s side, they have been very clear about what they want to deliver. They define the framework, select a small number of operators that can already…