Monetary Authority of Singapore Watchdog Announces New ICO Token Legality Guide for Investors

Singapore’s Monetary Authority recently issued a guide for businesses that are interested in starting an initial coin offering. This report comes after the country announced in August 2017 that token offerings are securities and thus, they must follow the same laws.

As for the guide, it states that there are exemptions for tokens as well. Tokens that would be exempt are ones wroth under 5 million Singapore currency and that are distributed to under 50 investors. The report also indicates that there are also several types of individuals who sell tokens – the producers, the managers, and the financial advisors.

AS for project owners, they must ensure that they have a capital markets services license, advisors must have a license as well, and exchange owners need approval from the MAS. In the event that a token is not a security, then the firm may still need to get a license for the token so that it complies with anti-money laundering and terrorism requirements. Further, if a suspicious transaction takes place, the platform must report to the authorities.

Take note that these obligations, and others highlighted in the report, are only binding on platforms transacting in Singapore.