From Singapore MPI to Labuan Money-Broking, with the SFC VATP, JFSA CAESP, KoFIU VASP, SC DAX, SEC Thailand and BSP VASP in between. We map the right route to your business model — capital, client base, banking realities.
A crypto exchange in APAC is gated by three separate things: a regulator's authorisation, a banking partner that will hold customer fiat, and FATF Travel Rule compliance. The licence unlocks the first, materially helps the second, and is a precondition for the third. Operating without licensure where one is required is now an enforcement target across most of the region — see for example Indonesia's POJK 27/2024 enforcement, Uzbekistan's NAPP inspections of foreign CASPs, and Singapore's FSMA Part 9 cessation requirement.
The eight active exchange routes by minimum paid-up capital and timeline. Click through to the country page for full detail.
| Country | Regulator · Licence | Min capital | Timeline | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | MAS · MPI (DPT) | SGD 250,000 | 9–18 months | Payment-token exchanges, stablecoin pair listings |
| Hong Kong | SFC · VATP (Type 1+7) | HKD 5,000,000 | 9–18 months | Institutional exchanges, security-token venues |
| Japan | JFSA · CAESP | JPY 10,000,000 | 15–24 months | Domestic Japanese clients, corporate-treasury alignment |
| South Korea | FSC / KoFIU · VASP | No statutory min* | 12–30 months | KRW-facing operators (with real-name bank) |
| Malaysia | SC · DAX (RMO) | MYR 5,000,000 | 9–18 months | Domestic Malaysian market, capital-markets-anchored |
| Thailand | SEC · Digital Asset Exchange | THB 50,000,000 | 8–14 months | SEA retail, 5-year personal-tax exemption advantage |
| Philippines | SEC CASP (BSP frozen) | PHP 100,000,000 | 9–18+ months | SEC-track operators, CASP rules from 5 Jul 2025 |
| Labuan | Labuan FSA · Money-Broking | MYR 500,000 | 5–10 months | Offshore profile, 3% LBATA tax |
* Korea has no statutory minimum but KoFIU and banks expect KRW 2–3 billion in operating capital.
Labuan at MYR 500,000 paid-up. Singapore SPI at SGD 100,000 is also low-cost but only covers smaller payment-token volumes. India and New Zealand have no statutory minimum but the operating-cost floor is set by AML programme and audit obligations.
India FIU-IND (3–5 months) and New Zealand FSP plus AML/CFT (3–5 months). Labuan at 5–10 months is the next tier. Among the more substantive regimes, Thailand SEC Digital Asset Exchange at 8–14 months is the quickest.
No. Each regime is national. The Asia-Pacific region has no equivalent of the EU MiCA passport. Multi-jurisdiction operations require parallel licensing, with structures that align operating models per jurisdiction.
Banking is the practical bottleneck in several markets — Korea (real-name accounts with one of four partner banks), Philippines (banking de-risking), Indonesia (PT-PMA with Indonesian commercial banks). We engage banking partners in parallel with the regulatory file.
Often yes — custody is a separate authorisation in HK (SFC Type 1 sub-category), MY (DACS), JP (CAESP custody subset). In Singapore, custody is bundled into the MPI authorisation. See custody licence.
Scoped fixed-fee for application preparation plus a monthly retainer post-licence. We do not run hourly billing for licensing engagements. Indicative fee ranges are scoped at the 30-minute consultation.
A 30-minute scoping call with the country lead for your target regime. Written summary of approach, indicative fees and timeline.