Singapore Crypto Activity Soars 55% in 2026
BITmarkets Team
Oct 05, 2026
The increase came despite a 6.8% contraction in the broader CSAO crypto economy during the same period. Institutional platform activity was a major contributor to Singapore’s growth, rising 94% to $60 billion and largely driven by a relatively small group of market makers, over-the-counter trading firms and institutional brokerages.
“The growth in Singapore’s institutional platform ecosystem was very concentrated and marked by mostly high-volume activity by existing platforms rather than the dynamic entry of new services,” Chainalysis told Cointelegraph.
Singapore sees surge in institutional crypto activity
Singapore’s growth comes as the country continues tightening its regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies while promoting areas such as tokenization, stablecoins and digital asset settlement. In 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) required locally based crypto companies serving overseas customers to secure a license or cease those activities. StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu said the measure reduced speculative activity while leaving more institutional participants, including banks and major companies, using blockchain technology in production.
At the same time, MAS has continued expanding initiatives related to tokenization and settlement. Its BLOOM program supports experiments involving regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank money. Ripple joined the initiative on March 25 to test cross-border trade settlement using RLUSD.
P2P crypto activity grows across Southeast Asia
While institutional activity drove Singapore’s growth, Chainalysis identified rising small-value peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Together, the three countries recorded 5.4 million domestic and cross-border P2P transfers valued below $10,000 during the reporting period. These transactions represented 14.4% of the global total, despite the three markets accounting for only 2.5% of worldwide crypto activity.
More than 80% of domestic P2P transfers across the three countries were worth less than $1,000. The average transaction was $618, compared with an average of $1,210 elsewhere in the world. In the Philippines, the International Monetary Fund has previously said local authorities view cryptocurrency usage as primarily linked to remittances and investment. World Bank figures show that personal remittances were equivalent to 8.5% of the country’s GDP in 2025.
P2P trading has also emerged as an important fiat gateway in Vietnam, where the Vietnamese dong is not widely available in direct cryptocurrency trading pairs. Most Vietnamese crypto traders rely on overseas exchanges, increasing the importance of P2P services for transferring funds between local bank accounts and digital asset platforms.
Thailand has experienced similar growth, with the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission reporting in September a significant increase in stablecoin transaction volumes and values, particularly involving USDT.
Cross-border stablecoin transfers outpace domestic activity
Cross-border stablecoin activity is also expanding throughout the region. According to Chainalysis, international stablecoin activity exceeded domestic volumes in every market analyzed, with regional cross-border activity reaching 3.2 times the level of domestic activity. “Stablecoins account for a growing share in all three. Plausibly, the drivers of this adoption link to ease of use, speed and low transfer costs,” Chainalysis told Cointelegraph.
Thailand and Vietnam recorded sizable domestic stablecoin markets worth $10.4 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively, although cross-border stablecoin volumes were substantially higher in both countries. In the Philippines, PDAX CEO and founder Nichel Gaba estimated that stablecoins are used to settle between 5% and 10% of inbound remittances. He also noted that major remittance providers are pursuing stablecoin-based settlement initiatives in the country.
The Bank of the Philippine Islands announced plans in July for a stablecoin settlement pilot designed to reduce the cost and processing time of international payments made to Filipino freelancers and remote workers.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/singapore-crypto-economy-284b-institutional-activity-chainalysis
https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2025/333/article-A001-en.xml
https://www.sec.or.th/EN/Pages/News_Detail.aspx?SECID=13294&
