--- title: "Singapore and Indonesia Tighten the Screws on Crypto" description: "Singapore's central bank has flagged the big decentralized exchange Hyperliquid on its investor-alert list, while Indonesia moves to license the 'finfluencers' who hype crypto online. Two more signs that Asia's financial hubs are pulling crypto into the regulatory net — echoing the UK and EU." category: "Crypto" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/crypto author: "Olivia Chen" published: 2026-06-30T01:43:40.000Z updated: 2026-06-30T01:43:40.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/singapore-and-indonesia-tighten-the-screws-on-crypto tags: ["crypto-regulation", "asia", "singapore", "indonesia", "hyperliquid", "crypto"] --- # Singapore and Indonesia Tighten the Screws on Crypto Singapore's central bank has flagged the big decentralized exchange Hyperliquid on its investor-alert list, while Indonesia moves to license the 'finfluencers' who hype crypto online. Two more signs that Asia's financial hubs are pulling crypto into the regulatory net — echoing the UK and EU. Asia's crypto crackdown is picking up — not with bans, but with **fences**. The **Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)** — the city-state's central bank and financial regulator — has added **Hyperliquid**, one of the largest decentralized derivatives exchanges, to its **Investor Alert List**, [Cointelegraph reported](https://cointelegraph.com/features/singapores-hyperliquid-warning-indonesias-finfluencer-licence-asia-express). Separately, **Indonesia** moved to **license the "finfluencers"** who promote crypto on social media. Together they show how Asia's hubs are tightening oversight. ## Singapore's warning The **Investor Alert List** isn't a ban; it's a **caution**. By naming Hyperliquid, MAS is telling Singaporeans the platform is **not licensed or regulated** there — so anyone using it has **no local protections** if something goes wrong: no guaranteed segregation of customer funds, no dispute resolution, no regulatory recourse, [as CryptoBriefing noted](https://cryptobriefing.com/hyperliquid-singapore-mas-investor-alert-list/). It joins other big offshore platforms on the same list. MAS's concern, in essence: users might **wrongly assume** a popular venue is overseen by the regulator when it isn't. A quick explainer: **Hyperliquid** is a **decentralized exchange (DEX)** specializing in **perpetual futures** — leveraged derivatives with no expiry date — that runs on its own blockchain, with trades recorded **on-chain** and users keeping custody of their own funds rather than handing them to a company. That self-custody, "permissionless" design is exactly what puts it **outside** traditional licensing — and why regulators reach for alerts rather than enforcement. ## Indonesia's finfluencer rules Indonesia is targeting the **hype machine**. Its financial regulator has introduced rules requiring **"finfluencers"** — social-media personalities who promote investments and crypto — to be **certified/licensed**, to **disclose** any payment or stake when they tout an asset, and to recommend **only assets and providers authorized** by the regulator. Violators can face **fines** (reported in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) and even have their accounts blocked. (Specific figures are per local reporting; treat them as such.) The aim is to curb the **paid promotion and misleading tips** that have lured retail investors into risky or fraudulent schemes. ## Asia's balancing act Both moves fit a regional pattern. Asia's crypto centers — **Singapore and Hong Kong** especially — want to attract **innovation and institutional capital** while shielding **retail investors** from unregulated venues and online hype. Singapore tightened its rules after the 2022 **FTX** collapse; Hong Kong has been licensing exchanges to position itself as a hub. The tools differ — **alert lists, licensing, disclosure** — but the goal is the same. And it's not just Asia. As Boursel has reported, the **UK's** new FCA framework and the **EU's MiCA** regime are pushing crypto firms toward authorization, capital rules and marketing restrictions. The throughline worldwide: crypto is being **absorbed into mainstream financial regulation**, market by market. ## Why it matters For **crypto platforms**, an alert listing carries **no legal force** but real **reputational and future-enforcement** risk, and signals that "we're decentralized, so rules don't apply" is wearing thin with regulators. For **retail investors**, the message from MAS is blunt: trade on unlicensed offshore venues and you're **on your own**. And for the **global market**, these Asian moves add to a steadily **converging baseline** of crypto oversight — uneven across borders, but unmistakably tightening. The era of crypto as a regulatory blind spot is closing, one investor alert and one influencer license at a time. ## Sources - [Singapore's Hyperliquid warning, Indonesia's finfluencer licence](https://cointelegraph.com/features/singapores-hyperliquid-warning-indonesias-finfluencer-licence-asia-express) - [Hyperliquid added to Singapore's investor alert list](https://cryptobriefing.com/hyperliquid-singapore-mas-investor-alert-list/)