MAS wants to make it harder for retail investors to get involved with Digital Payment Tokens (DPT) or Crypto as it is more popularly known. Recent bankruptcies and insolvencies of large players and the TerraUSD and Luna fiasco along-with steep drops in the value of Bitcoins and other tokens have encouraged MAS to protect the retail investor.
Among the new requirements are 1. taking tests of investors to gauge if they understand the risks 2. do not allow transactions on credit 3. No incentives, free gifts or celebrity endorsements are allowed to attract investors 4. new rules for accredited investors with S$ 1.8M in non crypto assets 5. No Staking allowed or lending tokens for interest 6. segregate customers assets from own assets 7. introduce risk management controls 8. disclose conflicts of interest 9. maintain adequate complaints handling processes 10. maintain high availability of critical systems
Some feel that the rules are too stringent and will drive these crypto traders away from Singapore.