Gemini Digital Payments Singapore has been granted a full Major Payment Institution licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the company announced on Sept. 9, 2026. The approval concludes a regulatory process that stretched almost two years from the in-principle approval granted in October 2024.
The licence authorizes the locally incorporated entity to provide digital payment token services and cross-border money transfer services under Singapore’s Payment Services Act. As an MPI licence holder, Gemini is no longer subject to the standard transaction-volume caps applied to regular payment institutions, a change that matters for institutional clients and larger trades.
However, MAS imposes broader obligations on major payment institutions because their larger operations carry greater financial and operational risks. Gemini must maintain continuing compliance in areas including anti-money laundering controls, customer due diligence, technology risk management, and regulatory reporting.
The approval follows a phased timeline. Gemini began serving Singapore customers in 2020. MAS granted in-principle approval in October 2024. In April 2025, Singapore customers were migrated from the US-based Gemini Trust Company to Gemini Digital Payments Singapore, which operated under a temporary exemption while the licence application remained under review. The full licence now ends that exempt arrangement.
Gemini executives described Singapore as a strategic hub for retail and institutional customers. The company already offers spot trading, custody, and over-the-counter services through its local entity. It has not announced new products tied directly to the licence, though it recently enabled XRP deposits and withdrawals through the XRP Ledger for Singapore customers.
The approval places Gemini among a small group of MPI licence holders in Singapore, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, OKX, Bitstamp, and Cumberland. The competitive significance goes beyond Gemini: Singapore’s deliberate, slow approval process reinforces the separation between locally licensed platforms and offshore exchanges that are merely accessible from Singapore.
