Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has secured a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, letting its local entity offer digital payment token and cross-border money transfer services without a cap on transaction volumes.
The MPI license is one of the broader payment licenses Singapore issues. A standard license caps transactions at S$3 million per service per month; the MPI tier removes that ceiling, which matters for an exchange whose Singapore volumes have grown alongside institutional demand for regulated venues.
Gemini shifted its Singapore customers to a locally incorporated entity in April 2025 as part of the licensing push. The company already offers spot trading, custody and over-the-counter services in the city-state, and the new license puts those activities on a formal regulatory footing.
Why Singapore matters
Singapore has spent years positioning itself as a regulated hub for digital asset businesses. The Monetary Authority of Singapore requires firms to be licensed before providing regulated services, and it has revoked licenses from companies that missed deadlines or failed compliance reviews. MAS also maintains a public list of licensed entities, a transparency step most jurisdictions have not matched.
The regulator has been selective. It warned in recent years that several offshore exchanges, including Bybit, are not licensed to serve Singapore residents, and it has restricted retail access to certain products. Firms that clear the bar get access to a market where wealth managers and family offices have grown comfortable with regulated crypto exposure.
For Gemini, the approval adds to an international footprint that includes the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and several Asian markets. The exchange listed on Nasdaq in 2025 and has leaned on its regulatory record as a differentiator against larger rivals.
The regional picture
Singapore’s approach contrasts with its neighbors. Hong Kong has opened a licensing regime for exchanges with a retail trading framework, while Japan continues to run one of the oldest approval systems in the industry. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have each tightened rules in the past two years, often around advertising and leverage.
Competition among licensed venues is intensifying. Coinbase holds a Singapore license through its local entity, and Binance operates there through a minority stake in a licensed local platform. Independent exchanges face rising compliance costs, which favors larger players with legal and audit budgets.
Payment licenses also open doors beyond trading. With MPI status, Gemini can move money across borders for customers, a service that overlaps with stablecoin payments and remittance corridors in Southeast Asia. Regional remittance volumes remain large, and stablecoin rails have been undercutting traditional money transfer pricing. Filipino and Indonesian workers abroad already send billions home each year, and a growing share of that money moves on dollar-pegged tokens rather than through correspondent banks.
The approval does not cover everything. MAS still restricts how licensed platforms can advertise to retail customers, and crypto services funded by credit or leverage face separate rules. Gemini’s Singapore entity will operate under the same consumer protection framework that applies to other MPI licensees.
Licensing has also become a competitive filter in hiring and partnerships. Banks in the region have grown more willing to open accounts for licensed crypto firms, a change from the blanket de-risking that followed the 2022 collapse of several exchanges. Payment processors, card networks and corporate treasuries often require an MPI license from a counterparty before signing contracts, so the approval has commercial effects well beyond the trading platform itself.
Timing matters for the company too. Gemini reported softer retail volumes in its most recent quarter as trading activity cooled, and international expansion is one of the growth levers available to it while the American regulatory picture settles. Singapore clients tend to skew institutional and high net worth, which brings higher revenue per user than the retail-heavy markets several rivals chase.
The license completes a process that started more than two years ago. Singapore’s Payment Services Act transition period ended in 2024, and dozens of applicants that failed to win approval exited the market or wound down local operations. Those still standing tend to be the firms that invested in local compliance teams early.
discussion