Singapore’s digital asset market is moving into a more demanding phase, where trust, regulation and staying power matter more than momentum alone. For firms operating across multiple jurisdictions, including Singapore, this shift is changing what it takes to build in this market, and why firms shaped by stronger systems and discipline may be better placed for what comes next.

A tougher market is taking shape

Over the past year, Singapore’s digital asset market has started to feel meaningfully different. The conversation is no longer about whether the sector has a future here, but about who gets to shape it and to what standard.

That shift became especially clear in June 2025, when the Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that firms based in Singapore and providing digital token services only to customers overseas would need to be licensed from 30 June 2025, while also indicating in public communications that licenses would not be generally issued.

At the same time, MAS has continued to back work on tokenised finance through Project Guardian, which signals that Singapore still sees promise in this space, but wants it to develop on firmer and more credible ground.

I do not see that as a contradiction, but a sign of a market becoming more mature about what it wants to encourage and what it wants to avoid. For a long time, digital assets were judged by their loudest personalities and their boldest claims, which made it easy for attention to run ahead of trust.

A more regulated market changes that balance, because it puts far more weight on whether a business can explain how it works, manage risk responsibly and build something with lasting value. As someone building in this space through Caladan, I have seen how much stronger markets become when trust and discipline matter more than momentum.

How this gap became impossible to ignore

That is also what drew me into this space in the first place. My background was in quantitative trading, where I spent time at Tower Research and Citadel, and that shaped how I looked at digital asset markets from the beginning. What stood out to me was not simply the volatility or the excitement around crypto, but how much of the market still felt unfinished.

Also Read: In digital assets, trust is the product

The infrastructure was uneven, the tools were still catching up, and there were clear gaps between how these markets operated and how more mature financial markets were expected to function. Caladan’s own public profile reflects that path, including my earlier roles and the company’s emphasis on technology-driven trading.

One early example was the Kimchi premium, when Bitcoin traded at a much higher price in Korea than in other markets. While many saw it as an unusual market event, I saw it as a sign of something more fundamental. This was going to be a market that remained highly fragmented, with significant room for better systems and stronger execution.

In the early days, that was the gap I found most interesting. The opportunity was never just about taking part in a fast-moving market. It was about helping build the technology and decision-making infrastructure that a growing market would eventually need.

Why Singapore made sense

Singapore became the right place to build that kind of company because it offered something much more valuable than excitement. It offered seriousness. In fast-moving sectors, regulation is often framed as something that slows progress down, but that has never been how I see it. A serious market needs standards, because standards are what allow trust to accumulate over time. Without them, any sector risks becoming defined by short-term momentum rather than long-term credibility.

For firms operating across proprietary trading and institutional markets, with activities subject to different regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions, Singapore remains an important base. It has the talent, connectivity and institutional depth to support innovation, but it also expects businesses to take governance and responsibility seriously. That combination matters a great deal in digital assets, where it has often been easier to generate attention than to earn confidence.

Building from  Singapore means a company cannot rely on hype alone. It has to show that it can operate responsibly, explain how it works, hold up under closer scrutiny, and be prepared to meet increasing regulatory scrutiny, which is a harder environment in some ways, but also a healthier one if the goal is to build something that lasts. 

Also Read: SBI bets on Singapore to build Asia’s digital asset corridor

What this new phase reward

As the market matures, the qualities that matter are changing with it. For years, digital assets rewarded speed, visibility and confidence, and in a looser environment, those qualities could carry a company quite far. In a more demanding market, they are no longer enough on their own. What starts to matter more is whether a business has sound systems, a clear operating model and the discipline to keep building even after the easier optimism fades.

That is why I believe this next chapter will favour businesses that were built with stronger foundations from the outset. In markets with lighter oversight, weak structures can be hidden for a while because momentum does the work of credibility.

In a more regulated one, those weaknesses become harder to ignore, and what stands out instead is whether a firm can respond well to scrutiny, operate with consistency and build with a long view in mind. In that sense, a maturing market is not something to fear. It is what allows the sector to become more useful, more dependable and ultimately more sustainable.

Also Read: Singapore crypto adoption hits new high as 61 per cent now hold digital assets

A clearer market can be a stronger one

What is happening in Singapore’s digital asset market is a raising of standards that is setting clearer expectations for participants. The market is becoming clearer about what kind of businesses it wants to host, and that is likely to reshape who lasts and who does not.

I see that as a positive development, because a maturing market should make it harder to impress with noise and easier to recognise who has built with substance. For firms operating in digital assets, that does not make Singapore less attractive. It makes it a more meaningful place to build.

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