“The ethos of Gemini really is to work with regulations. We like regulations. We welcome that,” declares Eugene Ng, Head of Business Development for APAC at Gemini, articulating a philosophy that many crypto entrepreneurs might consider heretical. With over 15 years of experience spanning traditional finance at Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Citibank before building institutional crypto relationships across Asia, Eugene Ng has witnessed how the most successful crypto firms embrace regulatory compliance as competitive advantage rather than viewing it as constraint. His contrarian perspective reflects hard-won experience: in the race for institutional capital and long-term market leadership, compliance isn’t a cost to be minimized—it’s a moat to be deepened.
Ng’s perspective on regulatory compliance reflects unique positioning at the intersection of traditional finance discipline and crypto innovation. His traditional finance background exposed him to how established financial institutions leverage regulatory compliance as barrier to entry and source of institutional trust, while his crypto experience revealed how compliance-focused firms capture disproportionate institutional capital as markets mature.
“A lot of these financial institutions feel very much comfortable with Gemini, because of our regulations and the fact that we play by the rules,” Ng explains, highlighting how compliance creates institutional comfort that translates directly into business advantage. This comfort isn’t merely about risk mitigation—it represents fundamental requirement for institutions managing fiduciary responsibilities and operating under regulatory oversight.
The Institutional Comfort Premium
Ng’s front-line experience building institutional relationships reveals how compliance serves as prerequisite for serious institutional consideration rather than optional feature that enhances positioning. “When I first spoke with institutions six months ago, the response was very lukewarm. Fast forward today, they’re actually sending us a lot of inquiries. It’s all in-bound,” he observes, describing transformation enabled by regulatory clarity and compliance infrastructure.
This institutional transformation reflects growing recognition that crypto firms operating outside regulatory frameworks face existential risks that prudent institutions cannot accept. The spectacular failures of exchanges that prioritized growth over compliance have validated the conservative approach that Ng advocates, creating competitive advantages for compliant operators.
“One of the things that they really want to figure out is the custody of the assets—who exactly hold these assets,” Ng notes, highlighting how institutional due diligence extends far beyond simple security concerns to encompass comprehensive regulatory compliance evaluation. Institutions cannot partner with crypto firms that might face enforcement actions, license revocations, or operational restrictions that could jeopardize institutional assets or regulatory standing.
The quality evolution in institutional conversations that Ng facilitates demonstrates how compliance enables deeper strategic relationships rather than merely satisfying minimum requirements. “The type of conversations, a lot deeper, a lot more thoughtful,” he notes, describing how compliance foundation enables institutions to focus on strategy, innovation, and value creation rather than remaining trapped in risk assessment.
The Compliance Cost Barrier
Perhaps counterintuitively, the substantial costs of regulatory compliance that burden crypto firms create significant competitive advantages for those willing to invest appropriately. Multi-jurisdiction regulatory compliance requires $2-5 million in setup costs over 24 months, plus $2-4 million annually in ongoing compliance expenses. A minimum compliance team costs $500,000-$800,000 annually, while technology infrastructure adds another $125,000-$530,000 yearly for AML monitoring, KYC verification, and regulatory reporting systems.
Ng’s institutional experience reveals how these compliance investments, rather than representing deadweight costs, create “regulatory moats” that become especially valuable as enforcement increases and institutions demand compliant partners. Licensed operators gain institutional credibility, banking relationships, and regulatory protection that unlicensed competitors cannot match.
The compliance infrastructure that Ng helped build through Gemini’s operations demonstrates how upfront investments in regulatory compliance create sustainable competitive advantages that compound over time. Early movers who invest comprehensively in compliance capabilities capture disproportionate market share as institutional adoption accelerates and regulatory scrutiny intensifies.
Regional Regulatory Navigation
Ng’s experience building relationships across Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and India provides insight into how regulatory compliance approaches vary across jurisdictions and create different competitive dynamics. “Singapore has some very thoughtful regulations around cryptocurrency,” he explains, noting how regulatory clarity in certain jurisdictions enables business development that remains constrained elsewhere.
Singapore’s success attracting 30 licensed crypto firms by 2025 reflects exactly the compliance-focused approach that Ng advocates. The jurisdiction’s Payment Services Act framework creates comprehensive regulatory requirements that increase operational costs while providing institutional confidence that enables market growth. The contrast between Singapore’s regulatory success and Hong Kong’s more restrictive approach demonstrates how regulatory frameworks affect competitive dynamics.
Compliance Enables Innovation
Perhaps Ng’s most important insight concerns how regulatory compliance enables rather than constrains crypto innovation and growth. The institutional adoption acceleration he witnesses occurs precisely because compliance infrastructure provides foundation for sophisticated products, services, and strategies that institutions require.
“It’s really increasing the Sharpe ratio of that entire portfolio. And with the innovation that we’re seeing in crypto space today, you don’t just buy bitcoin and hold it, there are so many other use cases,” Ng observes, highlighting how compliance foundation enables product innovation that attracts institutional capital.
The derivatives trading, custody solutions, and institutional services that drive crypto market growth require regulatory compliance as prerequisite rather than afterthought. Institutions cannot access these sophisticated offerings through non-compliant operators regardless of product innovation or pricing advantages.
The Long-Term Competitive Reality
For Eugene Ng, regulatory compliance represents strategic choice that determines long-term winners and losers rather than tactical consideration about resource allocation. His experience suggests that crypto firms prioritizing compliance over rapid growth will capture disproportionate market share as regulatory clarity increases and institutional adoption accelerates.
“I think being in Singapore, it’s really allowing Gemini to help Asians to access cryptocurrency more easily than ever before,” Ng notes, highlighting how compliance enables market access rather than limiting growth. The regulatory foundation that compliance-focused firms build creates sustainable competitive advantages that short-term focused competitors cannot replicate.
The institutional transformation that Ng witnesses—from lukewarm reception to strategic urgency—validates the compliance-first approach that initially seemed costly or constraining. As enforcement actions eliminate non-compliant operators and institutions demand regulatory certainty, the competitive advantages of “playing by the rules” become increasingly apparent.
Eugene Ng’s insight reveals how regulatory compliance in crypto parallels competitive dynamics in traditional finance, where compliance costs function as barriers to entry that protect established operators while ensuring market integrity. The crypto firms that embrace this reality rather than resisting it will ultimately dominate institutional markets and drive industry maturation.