Singapore Crypto Economy Surges 55% to $284B as Regional Market Contracts

Singapore's crypto economy grew 55.4% to $284 billion in the year ended June 2026, reclaiming its position as the largest crypto market in Central and Southeast Asia and Oceania (CSAO), according to a Chainalysis report shared with Cointelegraph. Institutional platform activity drove most of the gain, jumping 94% to $60 billion and concentrated among a handful of market makers, over-the-counter trading firms, and institutional brokerages. Despite Singapore's strong performance, the broader CSAO crypto economy contracted 6.8% over the same period, highlighting a divergence between the city-state and its neighbors.

The report comes as Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has tightened crypto oversight while simultaneously advancing tokenization and settlement initiatives. In 2025, MAS required local crypto firms serving overseas clients to obtain a license or wind down operations, a policy shift that StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu said reduced speculative trading while leaving more institutional players, including banks and large corporations, actively using blockchain in production. MAS has also expanded its BLOOM program, which supports trials using regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank money, and Ripple joined the initiative on March 25 to test cross-border trade settlement using its RLUSD stablecoin.

While Singapore led on institutional volume, Chainalysis identified a different trend in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam: growing small-value peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto transfers. The three countries recorded a combined 5.4 million domestic and cross-border P2P transfers under $10,000 during the reporting period, representing 14.4% of the global total despite making up just 2.5% of global crypto economic activity. More than four in five domestic P2P transfers across these markets were below $1,000, with an average transfer size of $618, well below the $1,210 global average.

The findings underscore how crypto adoption is splitting across the region along institutional and retail lines. In the Philippines, the International Monetary Fund has noted that authorities view crypto use as primarily driven by remittances and investment, with World Bank data showing personal remittances equivalent to 8.5% of GDP in 2025. Vietnam has similarly emerged as a hub for P2P trading, with local outlet Tuoi Tre reporting increased activity in the space. Together, the data paints a picture of a regional crypto landscape where Singapore's institutional depth contrasts sharply with grassroots retail adoption across Southeast Asia.