TRM Labs has appointed former Monetary Authority of Singapore official Ziqing Ang as Head of Policy for Asia-Pacific as the blockchain intelligence firm tracks more than $103 billion in adjusted crypto crime volume in 2025.
TRM Labs Puts APAC Policy Under Ziqing Ang
Ang will work with regulators, policymakers, law enforcement agencies and private institutions across Asia-Pacific, focusing on illicit financial networks and policy responses as governments develop rules for digital assets and artificial intelligence. Her appointment comes as criminal groups across the region increasingly use cryptocurrency alongside new technology to run investment scams and other fraud operations. TRM tracked adjusted crypto crime volume rising from about $123 million in 2020 to more than $103 billion in 2025, while investment scams, including pig-butchering schemes, accounted for 62% of fraud inflows last year.
Generative AI has also become part of scam operations, according to TRM, which recorded a 40% increase in AI-enabled scam activity. The company has tracked uses ranging from deepfake recruitment videos to fabricated account dashboards. This appointment follows TRM's hiring of former MAS regulator Claudia Hui as Head of Compliance Advisory for APAC last month. The regulatory focus parallels the enforcement work covered in the Chainalysis identification of 7,700 suspect accounts in a separate operation.
Ang Brings Eight Years of MAS Experience
With more than a decade of experience across regulation, financial markets and digital assets, Ang enters the position after working on both the government and private-sector sides of financial services. She began her career at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, spending more than eight years across financial markets development and reserve management. During that period, Ang worked with industry and public-sector participants on initiatives involving Singapore's capital markets and its role as an international financial center.
After leaving the regulator, Ang joined Sygnum, which describes itself as the world's first regulated digital asset bank, as vice president of business development. She most recently served as chief business officer at Bright Point International Digital Assets, part of BPI Financial Group. Ari Redbord, TRM Labs' global head of policy, said Ang's experience moving between the public and private sectors would support the company's work with authorities and institutions in Asia-Pacific. This regulatory appointment comes amid broader enforcement efforts, including the CFTC's warning about crypto ATM scams driving $388M in losses.
Singapore Tightens Crypto Licensing and Oversight
Ang's appointment also comes while Singapore continues to enforce its licensing rules for digital asset firms. In May, MAS revoked Bsquared Technology's Major Payment Institution license after identifying weaknesses in risk management, conflicts of interest and outsourcing arrangements. The regulator has separately continued using its Investor Alert List to identify companies that consumers could mistakenly view as regulated. Bybit, Hyperliquid, and Bitget have all been added to the list or confirmed they do not hold Singapore licenses.
Ang said Asia-Pacific is reaching an important point in the development of rules covering both AI and digital assets, saying the decisions made over the next few years will shape the safety of the ecosystem. Crypto scam compounds remain an APAC enforcement target, with authorities continuing to pursue networks operating across Southeast Asia where pig-butchering operations have been linked to large compounds and human trafficking.
