Singapore Teams Up With Japan, Swiss, UK Bodies on Crypto Regulation

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it has partnered with regulators in Japan, Switzerland, and the UK.
• The MAS said the policymaker group will work to advance digital asset innovation and regulation discussions.
• The regulator said the partnership is necessary as its digital asset pilot programs grow in scale and sophistication.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on October 30 that it has partnered with authorities in Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to foster digital asset innovation and adoption.

Indeed, the MAS, in its statement, said it will work hand in hand with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Per the announcement, the bodies will advance discussions around digital asset growth, risks, and regulation .

The MAS said the partnership would help it advance pilot programs for digital assets in asset management, foreign exchange, and fixed-income products. The Singapore regulator said it has partnered with 15 institutions to carry out these pilot programs under its project Guardian.

More importantly, the MAS said the partnership is necessary as its pilot programs grow in scale and sophistication. It continued by saying that the policymaker group discussions will improve common standards and aid the sustainable growth of the digital asset ecosystem.

Notably, the policymaker group will work on the legal, policy, and accounting treatment of digital assets. Furthermore, the group will advance the discussion on potential risks and gaps in existing legislation. This is especially true for tokenization solutions.

Additionally, the group will explore ways through which a standardized framework can be created for digital asset networks. Likewise, they will examine market best practices across many jurisdictions.

The group will also work to encourage the establishment of high interoperability standards to create cross-border digital assets. According to the report, they will also work with industry pilots for digital assets while promoting knowledge sharing between

Speaking on the development, Mr. Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director at MAS, said the partnership “with FSA, FCA, and FINMA shows a strong desire among policymakers to deepen our understanding of the opportunities and risks arising from digital asset innovation.”