Gemini Digital Payments Singapore has received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the exchange said in a post on its blog on September 8. The license lets the Winklevoss-founded exchange offer spot trading in digital assets, custody services and over-the-counter trading to customers in Singapore under the city-state's Payment Services Act.
"Securing the MPI license from MAS validates our commitment and investment into Singapore," said Cameron Winklevoss, Gemini's president and co-founder. "We've been in Singapore serving customers since 2020 and are excited for what's ahead." Chief executive Tyler Winklevoss called Singapore "a natural strategic hub" given its regulatory framework and status as a leading global financial center.
The full license follows an in-principle approval MAS granted Gemini in October 2024, which let the exchange operate under temporary exemptions covering cross-border money transfers and digital payment token services while it worked toward the full license. Converting that approval into an MPI license required Gemini to restructure its Singapore operations, moving customers in April 2025 from Gemini Trust Company, its US entity, to the newly incorporated Gemini Digital Payments Singapore Pte. Ltd., and building out the controls for customer due diligence, anti-money laundering, technology risk management and regulatory reporting that MAS requires of licensed payment institutions. The process took roughly 23 months from in-principle approval to full license.
Gemini joins a cohort of global exchanges that have secured the same license in Singapore in recent years, including Coinbase in 2023 and OKX and Bitstamp in 2024, alongside Circle, Crypto.com's Foris DAX Asia unit and other firms. MAS had licensed 38 digital payment token service providers as of August 2026.
The license lands as Gemini, which went public on Nasdaq under the ticker GEMI in September 2025 in an IPO that popped more than 14% on its debut, has traded well below its listing highs, with shares down from a 52-week high above $45 to around $11. Winklevoss Capital Fund invested $100 million into the company in May 2026, and reports emerged in April of potential acquisition interest in the exchange. A regulatory win in one of Asia's most closely watched crypto hubs gives Gemini a concrete growth avenue as it looks to expand institutional and retail business outside the US.
