What about employees?
Mr Chiam said a common question he’s had to deal with relates to whether employees whose job scope involves dealing with digital tokens must relocate.
Based on his law firm’s understanding from employees’ enquiries, it has found that such workers are generally not affected by MAS’ stricter rules, he said.
Practically speaking, employees working for digital token firms do not have to relocate – or at least, that is not the legislative intention, Mr Chiam added.
“On a positive note, employees appear to be interested in knowing how to better comply with regulations and keep abreast of such updates – overall a heightened awareness of the regulatory stance,” he said.
An employee from MEXC, who requested anonymity, observed that other centralised exchanges have introduced additional know your customer (KYC) checks and anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks.
These policies verify customers’ identities, to prevent illicit activity and to comply with global regulations.
Although MEXC does not have a local licence, the employee said his colleagues in Singapore have not been significantly affected.
“There are some observed changes within the compliance and legal teams, but for the most part, it is still business as usual,” he said.
An employee from Bitget, who also requested anonymity, claimed that about ten members of the customer service team were laid off earlier in June.
CNA has reached out to MEXC and Bitget for comment, as well as other firms listed in Singapore but not licensed by MAS.
