However, experts maintained that Southeast Asia governments can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore which have strict licensing and anti-money laundering regulations.
In May 2025, Hong Kong’s legislature passed a comprehensive Stablecoins Ordinance, establishing one of the world’s first dedicated legal regimes for fiat-referenced stablecoins.
The regime introduces a licensing system for stablecoin issuers, rules on reserve backing and redemption, and risk management standards.
For Singapore, only stablecoins that meet requirements under a regulatory framework by the Monetary Authority of Singapore will be officially labelled “MAS-regulated stablecoins”.
These apply to single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or a Group of Ten (G10) currency comprising the US dollar, the Euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone and Swedish krona.
To qualify, the stablecoins must have reserves that fully cover the value of tokens in circulation and issuers must publish a whitepaper explaining the rights of holders and audit results for transparency, among other conditions.
In a recent parliamentary reply, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong acknowledged that “well-regulated” stablecoins can play a role in making cross-border payments more efficient.
“There is growing interest by financial institutions to provide multi-currency payment and cash management solutions to corporate customers using stablecoins and tokenised deposits,” said Gan.
However, he warned that customers should exercise care when dealing with stablecoins, especially unregulated ones.
“Stablecoins in general are not as safe as bank deposits in Singapore, as bank deposits are tightly regulated and protected by deposit insurance,” he said.
In spite of the risks, experts told CNA that they are sanguine that stablecoin will be a key part of the future of the region’s digital finance infrastructure.
The economist Lee posited that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a bloc can play a part by pushing for a more “harmonised regulatory framework” across the different central banks to facilitate a regional stablecoin cross-border payment gateway, which will smooth business and trade transactions.
“ASEAN’s cross-border corridors are characteried by high intra-regional trade, high labour mobility, high volume of remittances and robust tourism,” said Lee.
“This creates significant demand for efficient settlement (payment) systems, which stablecoins offers.”
Dong He, chief economist at the Singapore-headquartered ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic research office (AMRO) told CNA that regulation should be synergised across different countries for better uniformity.
“Although regulators globally have begun converging on core prudential requirements, divergences persist across key areas, raising the risk of cross-border inconsistencies and regulatory arbitrage,” said He.
He also called for central banks to ensure that stablecoin issuers hold 100 per cent reserves in “high quality” liquid assets – ideally central bank money or short-term government securities.
“For these instruments to be safe for widespread use, the regulatory bar must be set exceptionally high,” the economist stressed.
Meanwhile, Tan of Singapore firm ChainArgos stressed that the growing demand for stablecoins is an indication that the token is here to stay for the long term.
“Despite Tether’s chequered past, it is still being used widespread today. If the risk is managed and (security, safety and assurances) are given, people will opt to use it … and it has reached a critical mass,” said Tan.
“These stablecoins (including RMJDT) have their own unique product offerings, and it’s possible in the future that users will transact (across the different types), much like how some users today have credit cards from different banks to maximise credit card points.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-stablecoin-rmjdt-straitsx-cryptocurrency-finance-5847861
