The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2015–2025
StraitsX bets MAS's stablecoin regime wins SGD a Coinbase listing; US$18B volume
Singapore's XSGD issuer bets the MAS-recognized label wins the non-USD stablecoin slot: first SGD stablecoin on Coinbase, Grab MoU, US$18B+ on-chain volume.
StraitsX
What the business is
A Singapore-licensed stablecoin issuer and payment infrastructure layer whose XSGD (Singapore dollar) and XUSD (US dollar) tokens settle payments, DeFi and cross-border transfers.
How it started
StraitsX grew out of Xfers, a Singapore payments firm founded in 2015, MAS-licensed and backed by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. In October 2020 Xfers publicly released XSGD — Singapore's first SGD-denominated stablecoin and, the company said, the world's first Travel Rule-compliant one — convertible 1:1 with SGD within a business day and issued on Ethereum and Zilliqa. The team's stated bet was that the stablecoin market's 98% USD concentration was an opportunity: local-currency stablecoins would matter for Singapore.
What happened
Singapore's Monetary Authority finalised a Single-Currency Stablecoin (SCS) framework covering SGD- and G10-pegged tokens, and StraitsX positioned itself inside it: the issuer held Major Payment Institution licences and received in-principle approval for SCS issuance in June 2025. In September 2025 Coinbase and StraitsX announced XSGD would launch on Coinbase and Coinbase Advanced — the first MAS-acknowledged SGD stablecoin on a global exchange — with issuance on Base and an XSGD/USDC liquidity pool on Aerodrome. In December 2025 StraitsX announced a Solana Foundation partnership to bring XSGD and XUSD to Solana by early 2026, and disclosed an exploratory MoU with Grab to build a Web3 settlement layer for the super-app's users.
How it ended up
Still running and scaling: as of December 2025 XSGD was live on seven blockchains and XUSD on two, the pair had processed more than US$18B in on-chain volume, and the MAS-recognized status was unlocking exchange, DeFi and super-app distribution.
Background
StraitsX is a Singapore-licensed stablecoin issuer that grew out of payments firm Xfers, founded in 2015. Its bet predated the regulation: in October 2020 it launched XSGD, Singapore's first SGD-denominated stablecoin and the world's first Travel Rule-compliant one, arguing that a market where 98% of stablecoins were USD-denominated left room for local currencies.
The opening came when the Monetary Authority of Singapore finalised a Single-Currency Stablecoin framework for SGD- and G10-pegged tokens. StraitsX built its strategy around that regime: it held Major Payment Institution licences, received in-principle approval for stablecoin issuance in June 2025, and its XSGD and XUSD were acknowledged by MAS as compliant with the framework.
In September 2025 the strategy converted into distribution: Coinbase launched XSGD on Coinbase and Coinbase Advanced — the first MAS-recognized SGD stablecoin on a global exchange — with issuance on Base and an XSGD/USDC pool on Aerodrome. By December 2025 XSGD was live on seven blockchains and XUSD on two; the pair had processed more than US$18B in combined on-chain volume, and StraitsX announced a Solana Foundation partnership and an exploratory MoU with Grab to build stablecoin settlement into the super-app.
The company's position is the mirror image of USD-stablecoin giants: instead of competing on dollar scale, it owns the MAS-recognized Singapore-dollar corridor and is betting that regulatory recognition becomes the distribution moat for the rest of Asia.
What has to be true
- MAS's stablecoin framework turned licence status into a competitive asset, and StraitsX had spent years positioning XSGD as the compliant Singapore-dollar token.
- The SGD corridor was underserved: at XSGD's 2020 launch, roughly 98% of stablecoins in circulation were USD-denominated.
- Being acknowledged as MAS-compliant gave StraitsX credibility with global exchanges, culminating in the first SGD stablecoin listing on Coinbase.
- The US$18B+ on-chain volume and the Grab exploratory MoU show the license is converting into real distribution, not just paperwork.
- Expanding to Solana and supporting AI-agent payments (x402) is an attempt to keep the compliant token relevant as payments move on-chain.
What can be applied
A compliance-first niche can beat scale: while the industry fought over USD stablecoins, the issuer owning the SGD corridor became the obvious pick once regulation legitimized them.
Aftermath
As of 2025-12-16, StraitsX operated as a MAS-licensed Major Payment Institution under Singapore's stablecoin framework, with XSGD and XUSD acknowledged as compliant. XSGD was live on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Zilliqa, Hedera and XRP Ledger, and XUSD on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain; the pair had processed more than US$18B in combined on-chain volume. Coinbase trading was live, the Solana launch was planned for early 2026, and a Grab MoU aimed at letting Southeast Asian users hold and spend XSGD and XUSD still required regulatory approval.
Sources
- Coinbase, StraitsX bring first SGD stablecoin, XSGD, to users
- Singapore-licensed StraitsX to bring its SGD, USD stablecoins to Solana in 2026
- Singapore gets its first SGD-denominated stablecoin
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