01/06/2026
MAS just made it easier for banks in Singapore to hold your crypto. Notice who is still missing from that sentence.
The consultation closed on May 18. A flexible prudential approach to cryptoassets on public blockchains, meaning banks get more favourable capital treatment for holdings where the underlying risks are demonstrably mitigated. Bird & Bird called it a major shift in how banks treat crypto in Singapore.
For the people who write these papers, this is sensible policy. Singapore wants institutional crypto on Singapore-regulated balance sheets, not on offshore exchanges nobody can audit. I agree it is the right move for the system.
For you, the retail holder, watch where the framing goes from here. Every regulated bank that opens a digital-asset desk is a bank that would prefer you keep your coins with them. Custodied by them. Insured by them. Loaned out by them. Reported on by them. Because they make money on the float, not on the storage.
That is the version of crypto your parents trust. It is also the version of crypto that requires a permission to move on a Sunday.
The version I run is the one where the keys live on a device in my drawer. The Trezor Safe 5 is the premium build of that argument. 1.54-inch color touchscreen so I can actually read every transaction before signing. Open-source firmware. EAL6+ secure element. It is what self-custody looks like when you've decided the bank's permission to move funds is not a feature you want.
Not your keys, not your coins, but there's more to it than that.
bitcoinwallet.sg/products/trezor-safe-5