Source:Sygnum survey
Compiled by: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily
Editor's Note: As the "crypto hub" in recent years, perhaps due to the painful experience of Singaporean-related investment institutions in the previous FTX collapse incident, the Singapore government has always maintained a "friendly with caution" attitude towards crypto regulation.
Nevertheless, the penetration of cryptocurrencies in Singapore is still gradually increasing, and more and more institutions and individual investors are turning their attention to cryptocurrencies outside the traditional financial field, and after Donald Trump's victory in the US 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 the current and foreseeable future, when the process of economic globalization and the mainstream of cryptocurrencies is accelerating, Singapore may become the "crypto hot money gathering place" in 2025.
The following is a financial survey recently released by the well-known asset management group Sygnum, compiled and edited by Odaily Planet Daily, with some content deleted.
A Comprehensive Survey of Singapore 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 of Finance survey. The survey measured and analyzed information such as the core interests, market sentiment and trading behavior of institutional and professional investors active in the cryptocurrency market. The survey involved more than 400 respondents with an average of over 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, with a total of 121 local Singaporean respondents participating in the survey.
Gerald Goh, Co-Founder and CEO of Sygnum Asia Pacific, said: "For cryptocurrencies and the broader digital asset ecosystem, 2024 is full of positive new developments and countless important moments. The most significant of these may be the launch of a Bitcoin spot ETF approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission - this will greatly accelerate the adoption of digital assets by institutional investors."
The survey shows that Singaporean investors are highly enthusiastic about crypto assets: 57% of investors plan to increase their long-term allocation to crypto assets, higher than the survey average of 47%. It is worth noting that 30% of investors see the uncertain regulatory stance as the main barrier to entry, compared to 45% of respondents who mentioned security and custody issues as the main consideration, indicating that the development of the crypto ecosystem has benefited from regulatory progress. With this in mind, this report aims to highlight the new trends and changing sentiments of institutional investors, reflecting the current market conditions and providing a reference for the future development of the blockchain industry.
3 Main Reasons for Investing in Digital Assets
Regarding investment strategies, the survey shows that most Singaporean institutional and professional investors are increasing their investment in cryptocurrencies, with 57% of respondents planning to increase their crypto asset allocation. This is mainly driven by long-term confidence in the crypto currency megatrend and its diversification potential, even in the midst of high market volatility.
The primary reason for investing in cryptocurrencies is to gain exposure to the crypto currency megatrend (56%), followed by portfolio diversification (41%) and return on investment (39%);
Even in the current significant market volatility, 57% of respondents still plan to increase their cryptocurrency allocation; 65% of them say they have a higher risk tolerance for these assets;
27% of respondents plan to maintain their current holdings, and only 2.5% plan to reduce their respective holdings;
37% of respondents cited the availability of institutional products as a reason for increasing their allocation.
In addition, another research report shows that 63% of respondents have a high risk appetite for crypto assets, indicating that most of the respondents interested in crypto assets are generally more comfortable with their volatility. At the same time, 28% of respondents showed a more cautious interest, aiming to invest in a neutral position. Among the 17% of respondents who are not currently investing in cryptocurrencies, most have a medium to low risk tolerance, often citing issues such as lack of trust in the on-chain world and asset volatility. Over a quarter are willing to allocate to crypto assets in the future, while half are still undecided on investing, and 20% have no investment plans at all.
Strong Demand for Asset Class Information
Singaporean investors want better quality information and a deeper understanding of digital assets.
Compared to the global average of 76%, 90% of Singaporean investors say "access to high-quality information and a better understanding of this asset class will encourage them to increase or start investing in cryptocurrencies."
Institutional Adoption Barriers
It is worth noting that the report also shows that while regulatory clarity has improved, security and custody issues are now the biggest barriers to Singaporean institutions adopting cryptocurrencies, with 45% of respondents citing this as the main barrier; lack of effective information and insufficient understanding is 41%, and asset volatility ranks third at 41%. The significant improvement in regulatory clarity brought by the US Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF has instilled confidence in more institutions to join the investment ranks, but market education remains crucial.
75% of respondents believe that regulatory clarity has improved;
73% of respondents believe that cryptocurrency ETFs have increased their confidence in this asset class;
90% of respondents say more comprehensive information would prompt them to increase their capital investment.
Cryptocurrency Investment Preferences
L1 public chains and Web3 infrastructure are the most attractive cryptocurrency investment areas at the moment, driven mainly 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 top areas with tokenization potential as mutual funds (47%), corporate bonds (47%), equities (40%) and hedge funds (39%);
In terms of investment preferences, the top investment strategies include actively managed investments aiming for excess returns (41%), followed by passive yield-generating investments (37%) and industry exposure to target growth areas (36%).
Furthermore, 91% of respondents said they primarily invest in blockchain protocol tokens (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum). This reflects an overwhelming preference for mature assets, which are perceived to have lower volatility and are supported by traditional institutions. This interest also extends to other L1 public chain competitors such as Solana and BNB Chain, decentralized smart contract platforms and ecosystem infrastructure.
Half of the respondents hold stablecoins, utilizing their non-volatility as a risk hedging tool and as the "main ticket" to enter the cryptocurrency market. Interest in stablecoins has been growing since last year, which may be due to the maturing regulatory framework for existing stablecoins, as well as the relatively poor performance of many DApp-related tokens compared to mainstream tokens like Bitcoin and Solana.
It is worth noting that the portfolio composition and investment strategies are diversified: nearly 40% of respondents invest in decentralized application (DApp) tokens, 39% invest in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and only 13% invest solely in L1 protocol tokens.
Finally, the study suggests that if market conditions improve, investors planning to maintain their current allocation may increase their allocation more quickly, with 46% of investors planning to increase their allocation within the next six months, and over 60% of investors optimistic about the crypto market in 2025.
