SINGAPORE: Investments in digital tokens, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are not suitable for retail investors, Chief Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Tuesday (February 15th).

He also noted that MAS has already issued several advisories urging consumers to exercise “extreme caution” when investing in such tokens.

“For NFTs in particular, their perceived uniqueness, combined with speculative demand, has served to inflate prices. This potentially exposes investors to outsized losses if speculative fervor wanes,” said MAS Chairman Tharman. .

Mr. Tharman was responding in writing to a parliamentary question from MP Don Wee (PAP-Chua Chu Kang), which asked whether the MAS intended to regulate NFT-related activities.

NFTs are digital tokens with a unique digital signature, verified and secured by blockchain technology. Although they typically take the form of artwork, music, videos, and other collectibles, they can be used to represent any underlying asset.

“MAS does not and cannot regulate all things or products that people choose to invest their money in,” the chief minister said, adding that MAS considers “the substance of an asset” when it assesses whether a product or activity should come under its regulations. to put back.

The MAS does not currently regulate NFTs given the nature of their underlying assets, he added, noting that other regions have also taken such a stance.

Mr. Tharman said MAS takes a “technology-neutral” stance and is looking at the underlying characteristics of the token to determine if it should be regulated.