In Singapore, MAS has completed work on a regulatory framework aimed at “ensuring a high degree of stability for the country’s regulated stablecoins.”
The agency has defined stablecoins as digital payment tokens designed to maintain a stable value against one or more related fiat currencies.
Singapore’s new rules will apply to single currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore dollar or any G10 currency issued in the jurisdiction.
After this news, local companies began to make plans to issue assets.
Payments firms StraitsX and Circle Internet Singapore, as well as DCS Card Center, said they were exploring the possibility of issuing stablecoins. The first two companies are licensed by MAS to provide digital payment token services, while DCS is regulated under the Banking Act.
StraitsX is considering receiving regulated status for its Singapore dollar-denominated stablecoin XSGD. The company also issues XIDR pegged to the Indonesian rupiah.
Regarding the potential issue of stablecoins based on other currencies, the co-founder of the firm noted its good position as one of the leading issuers of non-dollar stablecoins.
A spokesperson for Circle, which issues the second-largest USDC stablecoin by capitalization, said the firm is “evaluating opportunities within the current licensing rules.”
DCS previously launched a dollar-pegged DUS localized in Singapore. The company expects to register the token as a MAS-regulated single-currency stablecoin in the coming months and is discussing listing opportunities with crypto exchanges to expand access to the payment token.
By the way, Bernstein analysts predicted the growth of the capitalization of the stablecoin segment from $125 billion to $2.8 trillion over the next 5 years.
Analysts are convinced that integration with various platforms will serve as a “growth flywheel” for digital assets pegged to the US dollar.
Bernstein representatives emphasized that stablecoins will work at the “ultra-fast level of financial settlement”, that is, actively using second-level solutions based on Ethereum.
The growth of the segment will be based on “regulated, onshore stablecoins”. In support of the thesis, analysts mentioned Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, where pilot projects with stable coins and CBDC are being implemented.