MAS unveils new investor protection measures for crypto service providers

Photo credit: Shutterstock

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced new investor protection measures for service providers of cryptocurrency or digital payment tokens (DPT). These include crypto exchanges, stablecoin players, and traditional financial institutions.

The regulations, which will be implemeneted in phases beginning mid-2024, focus on business conduct, consumer access, and technology and cyber risk management. Under the new rules, providers need to identify, mitigate, and disclose conflicts of interest.

Providers must also publish policies governing the listing of DPTs and set up procedures for handling customer complaints and resolving disputes.

Consumer access measures are also have to be outlined to “discourage cryptocurrency speculation.” This includes assessing a customer’s risk awareness, refraining from offering incentives for trading in crypto,and avoiding financing and leverage transactions.

See also: Malaysian court order against Luno causes concern across crypto firms

In addition, DPT providers will be barred from accepting payments from locally issued credit cards and required to limit the value of crypto in determining a customer’s net worth.

In terms of technology and cyber risk management, MAS mandates that DPT service providers maintain “high availability and recoverability” of critical systems, aligning with requirements imposed on financial institutions.