- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched BLOOM, a program designed to modernize how institutions settle tokenized liabilities and regulated stablecoins.
- BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, and aims to bring together traditional banking and digital asset ecosystems under one secure, interoperable settlement architecture.
- The program aims to resolve longstanding inefficiencies in settlement and clearing systems by enabling settlement directly in tokenized bank deposits and stablecoins across G10 and major Asian currencies.
Singapore, October 16, 2025 — The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced the rollout of its much-anticipated BLOOM initiative, a groundbreaking program designed to modernize how institutions settle tokenized liabilities and regulated stablecoins. With this move, MAS further cements Singapore’s role as a leading global fintech hub—and signals a major evolution in cross-border payments and finance infrastructure. BLOOM, which stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, represents MAS’s ambition to bring together traditional banking and digital asset ecosystems under one secure, interoperable settlement architecture. In the evolving landscape of digital finance—where speed, transparency, and efficiency are highly prized—BLOOM aims to resolve longstanding inefficiencies in settlement and clearing systems. It does so by enabling settlement directly in tokenized bank deposits and stablecoins across G10 and major Asian currencies, for both domestic and cross-border use cases. The announcement outlines MAS’s commitment to a phased deployment, close coordination with industry participants, and strong risk controls to ensure stability.
Why BLOOM Matters: The Case for Tokenized Settlements
Bridging the gap between finance and technology
Traditional banking systems rely on legacy rails with multiple layers (payments, clearing, settlement), often involving correspondent banks and intermediaries—especially for cross-border flows. These systems tend to suffer delays, opaque reconciliation, and high costs. By contrast, BLOOM is designed to streamline settlement by using permissioned blockchain rails, tokenized bank liabilities, and regulated stablecoins. This architecture allows near-instant settlement, automated reconciliation, and more direct visibility into payment flows. Under BLOOM, financial institutions will no longer need to juggle multiple intermediaries or wait for end-of-day netting cycles. Instead, settlement can occur in real time, across currencies, with programmable features (e.g. conditional payment logic). Corporations and institutional users gain the ability to automate treasury operations, settle trade finance transactions instantly, and execute cross-border payments seamlessly. In simpler terms: BLOOM aspires to be the next-gen backbone for wholesale, multi-currency settlement powered by tokenization.
Key participants and ecosystem architecture
MAS has already brought together a diverse set of players spanning traditional finance, crypto infrastructure, and fintech:
- Circle will contribute USDC infrastructure (stablecoin layer)
- Coinbase will provide custody and institutional access services
- Singapore’s major banks—DBS, OCBC, UOB—are onboard as settlement and banking participants
- Partior provides the multi-bank blockchain network infrastructure
This mix of traditional and digital firms highlights MAS’s ambition: to unify the strengths of both worlds in a regulated framework. By requiring each participating institution to meet rigorous compliance, operational, and risk standards, MAS aims to safeguard against systemic threats and ensure high reliability of the network.
Technical design: how BLOOM will operate
At its core, BLOOM operates on a permissioned blockchain ledger, where bank deposits and liabilities are tokenized. That is, each participant can hold tokenized versions of obligations (representing real-world bank debt or deposit liabilities) and transfer them freely across borders and jurisdictions under governance rules. These tokenized assets act as the primary settlement medium within the ecosystem. Rather than moving “money” through rails, transactions settle by shifting token representations of value. Because the ledger is permissioned and restricted to vetted entities, MAS can enforce AML (anti-money laundering), KYC (know your customer), and other compliance obligations directly at the participant level. Additionally:
- Stress testing and operational resilience audits are mandated for participants
- Connections to existing banking infrastructure are preserved, meaning that tokenized settlement integrates with legacy systems
- Detailed regulatory reporting, auditability, and cross-currency risk monitoring are built in
- Settlement finality, clearing, and reconciliation are designed to occur end to end, reducing latency and friction
In practice, a corporate user might issue a cross-border payment where the tokenized liability and stablecoin leg settle atomically in seconds, rather than waiting hours or days under classical frameworks.
Use cases enabled by BLOOM
BLOOM’s design supports a variety of use cases across corporate, institutional, and banking domains, including:
- Corporate treasury operations: Treasurers can manage multi-currency liquidity dynamically, automating hedges, intra-group funding, and payments
- Trade finance: Settlement of goods, invoices, letters of credit, and supply chain finance can all be settled on-chain with greater transparency
- Cross-border payments: Instant settlement across jurisdictions without the delays of correspondent banking
- Smaller bank inclusion: Regional or smaller institutions can connect to global settlement networks (previously out of reach or too costly)
- Programmable payments: Logic such as conditional execution, escrow, or staged release (via smart contract-like features)
- Regulatory compliance: Audits, reporting, and oversight can be embedded into the flows, reducing manual overhead
Effectively, BLOOM aims to collapse legacy inefficiencies and bring a new level of transparency, speed, and inclusivity to wholesale settlements.
Risk, Oversight, and Regulatory Safeguards
Introducing a new settlement framework—especially one that spans jurisdictions and mixes digital and traditional assets—comes with significant risk. MAS is acutely aware of these challenges and has outlined rigorous guardrails to safeguard financial stability.
Prudential standards & participant qualifications
MAS requires all participants to comply with stringent custody and security protocols. Digital assets held in custody must meet high standards of segregation, resilience, and recoverability. Moreover, each participant must pass stress test regimes and operational resilience checks. Failure to meet benchmarks could result in suspension or disqualification from the network.
AML, KYC, and governance
Because the settlement network handles value across borders, AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and fraud monitoring frameworks are integral. MAS embeds KYC and identity verification safeguards into every participant’s access. This ensures that only compliant, regulated entities can transact on BLOOM. Additionally, MAS will maintain oversight over governance rules, access rights, dispute resolution, and protocol upgrades—maintaining a balance between innovation and regulatory control.
Cross-border coordination and legal challenges
One of BLOOM’s most complex fronts is the legal and regulatory alignment across jurisdictions. Differences in financial regulation, digital asset definitions, data privacy laws, capital controls, and licensing regimes could complicate cross-border flows. MAS anticipates the need for regulatory coordination with partner jurisdictions, bilateral or multilateral agreements, and legal harmonization. These efforts are critical to ensure that tokenized obligations and stablecoins are legally recognized and enforceable across borders.
Systemic risk and default handling
In a settlement system with multiple participants, defaults or operational failures can trigger cascading effects. MAS’s plan includes:
- Backward-looking risk buffers
- Liquidity and capital adequacy assessments
- Default management frameworks
- Contingency protocols (e.g. resolution mechanisms)
By embedding these provisions, MAS seeks to ensure that the network remains resilient even if individual participants falter. In sum, while BLOOM is bold in its ambition, its risk architecture is built to complement the innovation, not compromise it.
Positioning BLOOM in the Digital Finance Landscape
Building on prior MAS initiatives
BLOOM is not MAS’s first foray into tokenization and digital finance. It builds on the groundwork laid by earlier projects, including Project Ubin and Project Orchid (which explored use cases of a digital Singapore dollar). Through those pilot programs, MAS tested core infrastructure, interoperability, and use cases—insights that now inform the design of BLOOM’s market-grade implementation.
Global alignment: BIS, mBridge, ASEAN
BLOOM aligns with global initiatives such as the BIS (Bank for International Settlements) mBridge project and ASEAN regional cross-border digital currency pilots. By anchoring to these complementary efforts, MAS positions Singapore as a critical hub in the international push toward token-based settlement systems. If BLOOM succeeds, Singapore could emerge as a verse for cross-border token liquidity flows across Asia and beyond.
Why now? Trends pushing tokenization forward
Several macro trends make the timing for BLOOM particularly compelling:
- Growing adoption of stablecoins in Asia — Businesses and platforms in the region increasingly rely on stablecoins for cross-border flows.
- Demand for faster cross-border settlement — Traditional rails struggle with slowness and cost; tokenization offers a compelling alternative.
- Institutional interest in digital assets — Banks and corporates are seeking regulated, scalable infrastructure to operate in the digital asset era.
- Regulatory maturity — Many jurisdictions are now better equipped to define stablecoin and tokenization regulation, reducing uncertainty.
- Singapore’s push to deepen its fintech lead — BLOOM reinforces Singapore’s ambition to remain a fintech anchor for APAC.
In essence, BLOOM is both a response to and acceleration of the transition toward digital-native settlement infrastructure.
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