Authorised as a Major Payments Institution, the licence enables Paxos to issue stablecoins in line with MAS’ upcoming stablecoin framework. Singapore becomes the third market, alongside the US and United Arab Emirates, that Paxos and its related entities are approved to issue stablecoins. Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, says: “Stablecoins issued in accordance with standards set by a regulator like MAS - known for its rigorous regulatory standards - represent a significant step towards democratising access to commerce and financial services. Receiving approval from MAS is an important step for Paxos and our global enterprise partners to safely offer access to US dollars to more users around the world.” In an effort to embody trust in its upcoming stablecoin offering, Paxos has selected Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets, DBS, as its primary banking partner. Evy Theunis, head of digital assets, Institutional Banking Group at DBS Bank, says: "We firmly believe that trust and security are key to wider stablecoin adoption. Having examined all relevant aspects that come with managing reserve assets, stablecoin issuers will find that our solutions will help them meet the robust standards regulators and customers expect from them.” Paxos last month laid off 20% of staff in a strategic realignment to discontinue its settlement services in commodities and securities and concentrate more on asset tokenization and stablecoins.