Singapore’s Crypto Conundrum: High Adoption, Deep Skepticism
Lauded for their ability to diversify investors’ portfolios and generate strong returns in a short time, cryptocurrencies have experienced a meteoric rise in popularity globally, evidenced by an increase in their global market cap from $3.91B USD a decade ago to $3,280B USD today.
This surge in investment has been mirrored in Singapore as well, with our data revealing that almost one-in-three Singaporeans are currently invested in cryptocurrency, which has in part given rise to domestic cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinhako and Crypto.com, the latter of which is the 10th largest in the world.
From our latest SensingSG Q1 2025 data (April 2025), we explore the questions of who is investing, as well as how public sentiment on crypto and its regulation currently stands, uncovering some interesting revelations.
Who’s Really Investing?
According to our data, 29% of respondents say they are currently investing in crypto or NFTs, while 21% are interested in doing so but remain uninvested for now. In contrast, half of respondents say they have no interest in crypto investments.
Breaking down the data by gender and income reveals some disparities — 36% of all men currently invest in crypto, compared to only 22% of women. The gap is even wider when comparing respondents from low (<$5,500) and high (>$15,500) monthly income households 47% of higher-income earners invest in crypto compared to only 22% of low-income Singaporeans — more than double the proportion.
Making Sense of Our Findings
Half of Singaporeans shunning crypto may seem puzzling at first, given that Singapore’s crypto adoption rate of 29% is one of the highest in the world and that approximately 80% of Singaporean investors are highly interested in investing, or currently invested in the stock market, clearly indicating that there is significant room for crypto’s growth.
However, diving deeper into crypto’s characteristics, we can paint a bigger picture about why Singaporeans feel the way they do about crypto. Cryptocurrencies are characterized by their ability to generate strong returns due to their low liquidity, hype in tech circles as well as relatively lax regulation, all three of which pave the way for sharp capital injections and market manipulation, causing large price swings in both directions.
However, these characteristics are a double-edged sword, as they make crypto extremely volatile, while leaving it vulnerable to frequent exit scams, known as ‘rug pulls.’ Infamous examples of this volatility include Bitcoin’s massive 2017 boom and subsequent crash, where it lost 70% of its value in two months, or more recently, the crash of US President Trump’s coin, $TRUMP, where, by March 2025, it had lost 85% of its value from its peak.
How These Characteristics Affect Crypto’s Adoption
Based on our findings, only 36% of respondents acknowledge the perceived distinct advantages of cryptocurrency. Its high volatility may account for why half of Singaporeans perceive it as too risky an investment while over 20% express interest in cryptocurrency but have not yet made any investments. This especially rings true when considering that according to Avaloq, Singaporeans are relatively conservative investors compared to their regional counterparts, with 42% of Singaporean investors favoring a more conservative investment approach, compared to 30% in the rest of Asia.
Conversely, the relatively higher risk associated with crypto, compared to stocks and bonds, could also explain the significant difference between the proportion of low income and high-income respondents invested in crypto, at 22% and 47%, respectively. Investors with higher disposable incomes may be less risk-averse and more comfortable injecting capital into higher return and higher risk investments, like crypto, compared to lower income respondents.
The high risk profile of crypto could also explain the investment gap of 36% and 22% between men and women, respectively — just 31% of women see the unique benefits of crypto, amid its volatility, compared to 41% of men, potentially being indicative of women’s higher risk aversion when it comes to investment, compared to their male counterparts.
Despite Singapore’s high global adoption rate of crypto, the large proportion of people that are reluctant to invest in it, except for high-income individuals, could be partly attributed to Singaporeans’ lower risk appetite when it comes to investment.
Overall, we can paint a complicated and dichotomous picture of crypto’s adoption in Singapore — a country which is simultaneously a global leader in crypto adoption and home to some of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world, but also a place where half the population distrusts it.
So, What Would it Take to Win Singaporeans Over?
Having established some of the potential reasons behind Singaporeans’ reluctance to invest in crypto, we explored if it was possible to build more trust through more comprehensive regulation.
While over half the survey respondents (53%) indicated that stronger government regulation would make them more likely to invest in crypto, the reality is more complex. Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) has implemented stringent safeguards through the Payment Services Act (PSA) and the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), requiring licenses, enforcing strict anti-money laundering measures, and prohibiting crypto service providers from promoting their products to the public.
Despite this cautious approach, Singapore remains a major hub for global crypto exchanges like OKX, which recently integrated local payment systems such as PayNow and FAST. This paradox — where the infrastructure is in place, yet the government remains wary of speculative trading — creates uncertainty for retail investors.
As Minister of State Alvin Tan put it in Parliament in March 2025, “Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry significant risks. They are not suitable for retail investors.” This caution reinforces the government’s stance on protecting consumers while supporting blockchain innovation.
Ultimately, for Singaporeans to feel confident stepping into the crypto market, there will need to be more than just regulations — they’ll need a clear signal from policymakers that responsible investment is both possible and encouraged.
Conclusion
Concluding, the relative conservatism of Singaporean investors has been one of the reasons behind the high level of apprehension of crypto in the nation — the same inherent characteristics which fueled crypto’s rocket-like rise, are the same ones keeping many Singaporeans away. Combine this with the government’s discouraging messaging and stance on crypto, and it is not hard to see why half of Singaporeans are shying away from it.
Despite this, however, Singapore’s crypto adoption rate remains one of the highest in the world, which underscores just how complex the sentiment and regulatory environment surrounding it is. Looking ahead, just over half of Singaporeans need to see increased government regulation and stability before they decide to invest in crypto, which clouds the path of crypto’s future in Singapore with uncertainty.
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