Binance's CZ backs crypto license passporting for ASEAN bloc

The bloc already has narrower cross-border arrangements in other financial sectors. The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum's Collective Investment Schemes Framework lets a fund authorized in its home jurisdiction offer shares in participating host countries through a streamlined process. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand operationalized it in 2014; the Philippines joined in 2021. The ACMF Pass, under the Professional Mobility Framework, gives eligible investment advisers fast-track registration to advise clients in another participating country without obtaining a separate license.

Both programs remain subject to host-market requirements, but they show ASEAN regulators have used mutual recognition before.

The European Union offers a direct crypto comparison. Under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, an authorized crypto-asset service provider can passport services across member states after notifying its home regulator.

Zhao said differences in national policies and approaches to regulation make alignment harder than building common technical rails. Still, he argued that firms already licensed in one market should face a lighter application process when entering another ASEAN jurisdiction.

No formal ASEAN proposal for crypto passporting has been announced.