Singapore's central bank plans to settle tokenised MAS Bills using wholesale Singapore-dollar central bank digital currency, its managing director said on 9 October. The policy direction comes as the Monetary Authority of Singapore's consultation on legislation for regulated stablecoins approaches its 16 October closing date.
In his published address at INSEAD, Chia Der Jiun described the bill-settlement work as the next step in bringing tokenised assets and central bank money onto common infrastructure. He did not announce a public launch date for that next step.
The wholesale Singapore-dollar test network became operational in 2025, he said, with an initial trial settling overnight interbank lending between DBS, OCBC and UOB. The proposed next use concerns financial-market settlement. The speech does not announce a new retail coin, an investment offer or a public subscription window.
Chia's wider argument was that digital markets need trusted settlement assets and systems that can work across networks. He described tokenised deposits, regulated stablecoins and central bank digital currency as serving different purposes, with regulation and reliable settlement remaining part of the design.
Stablecoin proposals remain open for comment
MAS launched its legislative consultation on 1 September. It proposes amendments to the Payment Services Act to implement a framework for single-currency stablecoins issued in Singapore and pegged to the Singapore dollar or a G10 currency. The proposals cover reserve backing, capital, redemption at par and disclosure.
The regulator is also consulting on jointly issued stablecoins involving Singapore and foreign issuers, and limited recognition of foreign-issued stablecoins governed by comparable rules. Those are proposed regulatory routes. The September announcement does not confer recognition on every overseas stablecoin or give a particular token an assurance of safety.
Other proposals include prohibiting interest payments on MAS-regulated stablecoins, requiring stress tests, and obliging issuers to prepare recovery and orderly wind-down plans. MAS also proposes protecting customers' money received before tokens are issued. These safeguards are part of the consultation package, rather than newly effective requirements announced in the October speech.
What the detailed paper asks
The consultation paper proposes a separate stablecoin-issuance licence. Its description of issuance includes minting, circulation, managing reserve assets and redemption. Core proposed obligations include reserves at least equal to the par value of circulating stablecoins and fulfilling redemptions within prescribed timeframes.
MAS proposes stress testing at least quarterly, covering adverse conditions such as heavy redemption requests, difficulty liquidating reserves and settlement outages. The paper says further detail would be provided through subsidiary legislation. Recovery and wind-down plans would need regular board review and sharing with MAS at least annually.
Another proposed requirement concerns technical capability to trace, freeze or destroy issued tokens linked to illicit activity. Separately, MAS is considering stronger retail disclosures and warnings for non-MAS-regulated tokens marketed as stablecoins. The paper asks for feedback on those measures, including an appropriate transition period.
For foreign-issued tokens, the paper proposes recognition case by case, supported by cooperation and information sharing between regulators. It distinguishes a recognised foreign stablecoin, supervised in its home jurisdiction, from one directly regulated by MAS. The proposed label would therefore describe a particular supervisory arrangement, rather than make the two legal categories interchangeable for consumers.
Connecting financial networks
Infrastructure standards are another part of the policy work. The Global Layer One initiative describes its purpose as supporting shared ledgers that can connect across markets while meeting regulatory expectations. Its published toolkit covers how financial institutions and infrastructure operators assess their services against recognised standards.
The initiative's work areas include governance, risk controls, legal and technology requirements, and programmable compliance checks. Its website dates the latest highlighted infrastructure and compliance publications to 22 June 2026. They are existing resources relevant to the October discussion, not fresh rules introduced by the speech.
Dalimss News has separately covered ESMA's position on non-compliant stablecoins and the EU Council's crypto-supervision position. Singapore's immediate policy checkpoint is the close of its consultation on 16 October. The consultation page still lists the exercise as open; a final response and implementing measures will be needed to establish which proposals proceed.
