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 by: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily
Editor's note: As a 'crypto hub' in recent years, perhaps due to the painful experiences of Singaporean investment institutions during the previous FTX incident, the Singapore government has maintained a 'friendly yet cautious' attitude towards crypto regulation.
Nonetheless, the penetration of cryptocurrency in Singapore continues to rise, with more institutional and individual investors turning their attention to cryptocurrency beyond traditional finance. Following Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, a series of potential measures such as Bitcoin strategic reserves have laid a good foundation for the development of the cryptocurrency market. In today's rapid integration of economic globalization and the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency, Singapore may become the "hotbed for crypto capital" in 2025.
Below is a financial survey recently released by the renowned asset management group Sygnum, compiled by Odaily Planet Daily, with some content edited.
Survey on the Current Situation of Singaporean Investors: 57% of Institutional Investors Plan to Increase Long-term Holdings
Recently, global digital asset banking group Sygnum released the results of its annual Future Finance survey. This survey measures and analyzes the core interests, market sentiments, and trading behaviors of institutions and professional investors active in the cryptocurrency market, including over 400 respondents with an average of more than 10 years of investment experience, including Sygnum's institutional clients, investors from banks, hedge funds, multi-family and single-family offices, DLT foundations, funds, and asset managers. A total of 121 local Singaporean respondents participated in the survey.
Gerald Goh, co-founder and CEO of Sygnum Asia Pacific, stated: "2024 is filled with positive new developments and countless important moments for cryptocurrency and the broader digital asset ecosystem. Perhaps the most significant will be the launch of the Bitcoin spot ETF after approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — this greatly accelerates institutional investors' adoption of digital assets."
The survey shows that Singaporean investors have a high enthusiasm for crypto assets: 57% of investors plan to increase long-term allocation to crypto assets, higher than the survey average of 47%. Notably, 30% of investors view an unclear regulatory environment as the main entry barrier, while 45% cited security and custody issues as the primary consideration, indicating that the development of the crypto ecosystem has benefited from regulatory progress. In light of this, the report aims to highlight the new trends and sentiment changes among institutional investors, reflecting the current market conditions and providing references for the future development of the blockchain industry.
Top 3 Reasons to Invest in Digital Assets
Regarding investment strategies, the survey shows that most Singaporean institutions and professional investors are increasing their investment in cryptocurrencies, with 57% of respondents planning to increase their allocation to crypto assets. This is primarily driven by long-term confidence in the cryptocurrency trend and its diversification potential, even as the crypto market remains highly volatile.
The primary reason for investing in cryptocurrencies is to engage with the cryptocurrency trend (56%), followed by portfolio diversification (41%) and return on investment (39%);
Even amid current 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 current holdings, while only 2.5% plan to reduce their respective holdings;
37% of respondents cite the availability of institutional products as a reason to increase allocation.
Additionally, another survey report shows that 63% of respondents have a high risk appetite for crypto assets, indicating that most respondents interested in digital assets are generally more at ease with their volatility. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents exhibit a more cautious interest, aiming to invest from a neutral standpoint. Among the 17% of respondents who currently do not invest in cryptocurrencies, most tend to have a low to medium risk tolerance, often citing issues such as a lack of trust in the on-chain world and asset volatility. More than a quarter are willing to allocate to crypto assets in the future, while half remain undecided about investing, and 20% have no investment plans at all.
Strong Demand for Asset Class Information
Singaporean investors seek better information quality and a deeper understanding of digital assets.
Compared to the global average of 76%, 90% of Singaporean investors stated: "Accessing quality information and better understanding this asset class will encourage them to increase investments or start investing in cryptocurrencies."
Institutional Access Barriers
Notably, the report also shows that while regulatory clarity has improved, security and custody issues are now the biggest barriers for Singaporean institutions adopting cryptocurrencies, with 45% citing this as the primary obstacle; 41% mentioned a lack of effective information and understanding, and asset volatility ranks third, also at 41%. The significant improvement in regulatory clarity brought by the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF 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 said that more comprehensive and improved 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 Networks) and AI.
The top three areas of interest for Singaporean investors are L1 (71%), Web3 infrastructure (56%), and L2 (41%);
Respondents believe that the top areas with tokenization potential are mutual funds (47%), corporate bonds (47%), equities (40%), and hedge funds (39%);
In terms of investment preferences, the preferred investment strategies include generating excess returns through active management (41%), followed by passive income investment (37%) and industry investment exposure in target growth areas (36%).
Moreover, 91% of respondents primarily invest in blockchain protocol tokens (e.g., Bitcoin and Ethereum). This reflects an overwhelming preference for mature assets, which are considered to have lower volatility and are 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, utilizing their non-volatility as a risk hedging means and as a "main ticket" to enter the cryptocurrency market. Interest in stablecoins has been growing since last year, possibly due to the maturing regulatory framework for existing stablecoins and many DApp-related tokens underperforming compared to mainstream tokens like Bitcoin and Solana.
Notably, portfolio composition and investment strategies are diversified: nearly 40% of respondents invest in decentralized applications (DApp) tokens, 39% invest in NFTs, and only 13% of respondents solely invest in L1 protocol tokens.
Finally, the study indicates that if market conditions improve, investors planning to maintain their current allocations may increase their allocations more quickly, with 46% of investors planning to increase their allocations in the next six months, and over 60% of investors are optimistic about investing in the crypto market in 2025.
