Gemini waited 23 months for the licence and joins 37 others

The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted Gemini Digital Payments Singapore a Major Payment Institution licence on Wednesday, Cointelegraph reported. Gemini has traded in Singapore since 2020, held an in-principle approval since October 2024, and moved its Singapore customers to the local entity in April 2025.

That leaves 23 months between the in-principle approval and the licence.

What the licence changes

• The volume ceiling goes. Singapore's lower tier caps a firm at S$3 million a month for any one payment service and S$6 million across two or more. A Major Payment Institution carries no such cap, which is why a global exchange applies for this tier and not the cheaper one.
• Supervision rises to match. MAS applies heavier requirements here because the scale of the operation carries more risk.
• Retail and institutional clients now deal with the licensed local entity for spot trading, custody and over-the-counter dealing, rather than with the exemption its US parent relied on.

The number that puts it in proportion

Thirty-seven firms already held an active Major Payment Institution licence covering digital payment token services as of late August, on the MAS public register. Gemini makes it thirty-eight.

That list runs wider than crypto exchanges. It holds custodians, brokers such as moomoo and DBS Vickers, and consumer payment apps including PayPal and Revolut that carry crypto as one feature among many.

“Singapore is a strategic hub for serving retail and institutional clients.”

— Tyler Winklevoss, Cointelegraph, 9 September 2026

Tyler Winklevoss, chief executive of Gemini. Source: Cointelegraph, 9 September 2026

Why the wait is the story

A firm can trade in Singapore for six years and still be finishing its paperwork. Gemini arrived in 2020, took the in-principle nod in 2024, migrated customers in 2025 and holds the licence in 2026.

Compare that with Australia, which we covered last week: firms there have until 30 September to hold a licence or stop trading. Two regulators, two speeds. The slower one is the jurisdiction crypto firms call friendly.

Singapore has been tightening in parallel. On 1 September we wrote about its proposal for 100% reserves behind stablecoins and a ban on paying yield to holders. Our Singapore page tracks the rest.

What it means for a customer

A licensed local entity means a Singapore customer deals with a Singapore company under Singapore rules, with MAS as the complaint route. That is a real change from an exemption held by a US parent. MAS lists every holder on its public register, so you can check the entity name rather than the brand on the app.

The badge covers the payment activity, not the trading outcome, and thirty-eight firms hold it. Read it as a floor under the paperwork rather than a verdict on the exchange.

This piece is informational, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.