Singapore Proposes 100% Reserves and a Ban on Yields for Stablecoin Issuers

Singapore’s central bank wants a dedicated stablecoin issuance license. Issuers would need at least 100% reserve backing. They could not pay interest or hand out benefits tied to token holdings. And for the first time, the country is weighing whether to recognize stablecoins issued overseas.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published consultation P015-2026 on Sept. 1. It outlines amendments to the Payment Services Act. Only licensed issuers would earn the right to call their tokens “MAS-regulated stablecoins,” per the proposal. Wu Blockchain and Cointelegraph independently reported the move. Responses close Oct. 16.

Those two constraints, full reserves and no yield, are the hardest edges of the document. Other regulators have leaned the same direction. MAS has not framed this consultation as alignment with any particular foreign regime.

What does this mean in practice? Issuers could not offer yield-style returns on stablecoin balances. Redemption deadlines from holders would be mandatory. The proposal draws a floor at full reserve backing. Fractional models need not apply.

Until now, MAS kept its stablecoin regime domestic only. That stance is open for reconsideration. The consultation asks whether tokens issued and regulated abroad should count. A meaningful departure for a jurisdiction that had kept the perimeter narrow.

The mechanics of that recognition remain unspecified. Would foreign-issued tokens gain admission automatically? Case by case? Only from jurisdictions MAS deems equivalent? The materials made public do not say.

These amendments extend a framework MAS finalized in August 2023. That regime applied to single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies, including the US dollar, euro, and yen. It set out qualification criteria for MAS-regulated status and the safeguards needed to support value stability, MAS said at the time.

A new dedicated license would sit beside Singapore’s existing Major Payment Institution structure. StraitsX, a Singapore-based issuer, already operates under a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, industry reporting shows.

Other jurisdictions are finalizing their own regimes in parallel. Draft legislation for the MAS amendments is being prepared. Full implementation is expected in mid-2026, according to independent commentary cited in the consultation materials.

Still unknown: which asset classes would satisfy the reserve requirement. How redemption deadlines would be defined. Whether the foreign-recognition pathway could stretch to stablecoins jointly issued across borders. The consultation paper is open for responses through Oct. 16.

One housekeeping note. The MAS media release was titled “Consults on Legislative Amendments to Implement Stablecoin Regulatory Framework,” dated Sept. 1. Its consultation page was intermittently unavailable during reporting. Confirmation of the consultation number, dates, and release title came via the MAS regulations-and-guidance index.