Original title: Singapore investors more likely than those in other regions to increase their crypto allocation in 2025: Sygnum survey
Original source: Sygnum survey
Original translation: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily
Editor’s note: As a 'crypto hub' in recent years, perhaps due to the painful experiences of related investment institutions in Singapore during the previous FTX incident, the Singapore government has maintained a 'friendly yet cautious' attitude towards crypto regulation.
Nevertheless, the penetration rate of cryptocurrencies in Singapore is gradually increasing, with more institutional and individual investors turning their attention to cryptocurrencies outside the traditional financial sector. After Trump won the U.S. presidential election, a series of potential measures such as Bitcoin strategic reserves have also laid a good foundation for the development of the cryptocurrency market. In today's accelerated integration of economic globalization and cryptocurrency mainstreaming, Singapore may become the 'hotbed for crypto hot money' in 2025.
The following is the financial survey recently released by the well-known asset management group Sygnum, compiled and organized by Odaily Planet Daily, with some content edited.
A large survey on the current state of Singaporean investors: 57% of institutional investors plan to increase long-term holdings
Recently, the global digital asset banking group Sygnum released the results of its annual future finance survey. This survey measures and analyzes the core interests, market sentiment, and trading behaviors of institutional and professional investors active in the cryptocurrency market, with over 400 respondents who have an average of more than 10 years of investment experience, including Sygnum's institutional clients, investors, and a diverse group of investment professionals from banks, hedge funds, multi-family and single-family offices, DLT foundations, funds, and asset managers. A total of 121 local respondents from Singapore participated in the survey.
Gerald Goh, Co-Founder and CEO of Sygnum Asia Pacific, stated: "2024 is filled with positive new developments and numerous important moments for cryptocurrencies and the broader digital asset ecosystem. Perhaps the most significant is the launch of the Bitcoin spot ETF after approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission—this has greatly accelerated institutional investors' adoption of digital assets."
The survey shows that investors in Singapore have a high enthusiasm for crypto assets: 57% of investors plan to increase their long-term allocation to crypto assets, higher than the survey average of 47%. Notably, 30% of investors view the unclear regulatory landscape as a major entry barrier, compared to 45% of respondents who mentioned security and custody issues as primary considerations, indicating that the development of the crypto ecosystem has benefited from regulatory progress. In light of this, the report aims to highlight new trends and sentiment changes among institutional investors, reflecting the current market conditions while also providing references for the future development of the blockchain industry.
Top 3 reasons for investing in digital assets
Regarding investment strategies, the survey shows that most institutional and professional investors in Singapore are increasing their investments in cryptocurrencies, with 57% of respondents planning to increase their allocation to crypto assets. This is mainly driven by long-term confidence in the overall trend of cryptocurrencies and their diversification potential, even amid high volatility in the crypto market.
· The primary reasons for investing in cryptocurrencies are to tap into the overall trend of cryptocurrencies (56%), followed by portfolio diversification (41%) and return on investment (39%);
· Even amid significant market volatility, 57% of respondents still plan to increase their cryptocurrency allocations; 65% indicated they have a greater risk tolerance for such assets;
· 27% of respondents plan to maintain their existing positions, with only 2.5% planning to reduce their holdings;
· 37% of respondents cited the availability of institutional products as a reason for increasing allocations.
In addition, another survey report shows that 63% of respondents have a high risk appetite for crypto assets, indicating that most respondents interested in crypto assets are generally more comfortable with their volatility. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents exhibited a more cautious interest, aiming to invest from a neutral position. Among the 17% of respondents currently not investing in cryptocurrencies, most tend to have a medium to low-risk tolerance, often mentioning issues such as lack of trust in the on-chain world and asset volatility. More than a quarter are willing to allocate crypto assets in the future, while half have not yet decided to invest, and 20% have no investment plans at all.
Strong demand for information on asset classes
Singaporean investors seek better information quality and a deeper understanding of digital assets.
Compared to 76% of global average data, 90% of Singaporean investors stated: "Accessing high-quality information and better understanding the asset class will encourage them to increase or start investing in cryptocurrencies."
Institutional entry barriers
Notably, the report also indicates that although regulatory clarity has improved, security and custody issues are currently the biggest barriers for Singaporean institutions adopting cryptocurrencies, with 45% citing this as the main obstacle; lack of effective information and insufficient understanding account for 41%, while asset volatility ranks third, also at 41%. The significant improvement in regulatory clarity brought by Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs in the U.S. has injected considerable confidence for more institutions to join the investment ranks, but market education remains crucial.
· 75% of respondents stated that they believe regulatory clarity has improved;
· 73% of respondents believe that cryptocurrency ETFs have increased their confidence in this asset class;
· 90% of respondents indicated that more comprehensive and complete information would encourage them to increase their funding.
Cryptocurrency investment preferences
L1 public chains and Web3 infrastructure are currently the most attractive areas for cryptocurrency investment, primarily driven by trends such as DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network) and AI.
· The top 3 areas of interest for Singaporean investors are L1 (71%), Web3 infrastructure (56%), and L2 (41%);
· Respondents ranked the fields with tokenization potential as follows: mutual funds (47%), corporate bonds (47%), equities (40%), and hedge funds (39%);
· In terms of investment preferences, the top investment strategies include generating excess returns through active management (41%), followed by passive income investments (37%) and exposure to industry investments in growth sectors (36%).
Moreover, 91% of respondents stated that they primarily invest in blockchain protocol tokens (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum). This reflects an overwhelming preference for mature assets, which are considered less volatile and supported by traditional institutions. This interest also extends to other L1 public chain competitors, such as decentralized smart contract platforms and ecosystem infrastructures like Solana and BNB Chain.
Half of the respondents hold stablecoins, using their non-volatility as a risk hedging tool and as the 'main ticket' to enter the cryptocurrency market. Interest in stablecoins has been steadily growing since last year, likely due to the increasingly mature regulatory framework for existing stablecoins and the underperformance of many DApp-related tokens compared to mainstream tokens like Bitcoin and Solana.
Notably, the composition of investment portfolios and strategies is becoming diversified: nearly 40% of respondents invest in decentralized application (DApp) tokens, 39% invest in NFTs, and only 13% of respondents invest solely in L1 protocol tokens.
Finally, the study indicates that if market conditions improve, investors planning to maintain their existing allocations may increase their allocations more quickly, with 46% of investors planning to increase allocations in the next six months, and more than 60% of investors holding an optimistic view on crypto market investments in 2025.
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