Singapore crypto activity rises 55.4% to $284B as wider region contracts
In brief
- Singapore's crypto activity rose 55.4% to $284 billion in the year ended June 2026, per Chainalysis.
- Singapore's institutional platform activity climbed 94% to $60 billion, concentrated among a few firms.
- The broader CSAO crypto economy contracted 6.8% over the same period, per Chainalysis.
- The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam logged 14.4% of global sub-$10,000 P2P transfers.
Institutional platform activity nearly doubled
Chainalysis said institutional platform activity in Singapore rose 94% to $60 billion, and that activity was concentrated among a small number of market makers, OTC 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.
It's scale, not new entrants.
The numbers land while Singapore has been working to tighten crypto regulation (while still supporting tokenization, stablecoins and digital-asset settlement). In 2025, MAS required local crypto firms serving overseas clients to obtain a license or exit. StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu said that move reduced speculative activity while leaving more institutional players using blockchain in production. MAS's BLOOM program supports trials using regulated stablecoins and tokenized bank money, and Ripple joined it on March 25 to test cross-border trade settlement using RLUSD.
Small P2P transfers elsewhere in the region
The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam look very different. Chainalysis said the three countries recorded a combined 5.4 million P2P transfers under $10,000, or 14.4% of the global total, even though they account for 2.5% of the global crypto economy. More than four in five domestic P2P transfers there were below $1,000, with an average size of $618 versus $1,210 in the rest of the world.
Local drivers vary. The IMF has said Philippine authorities view crypto use as primarily driven by remittances and investment, and World Bank data showed personal remittances were equivalent to 8.5% of GDP in 2025. PDAX CEO and founder Nichel Gaba estimated that 5% to 10% of inbound remittances to the Philippines are settled using stablecoins.
In Vietnam, Tuoi Tre reported in June that P2P trading had become an important fiat gateway because the dong isn't widely supported in direct crypto trading pairs. Reuters reported in March that most crypto traders there rely on overseas exchanges. Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission said in September it had observed a significant increase in the volume and value of stablecoin transactions, particularly USDT.
Stablecoins move across borders
Chainalysis said cross-border stablecoin activity exceeded domestic activity in every market it analyzed, and was 3.2 times larger across the region. Domestic markets weren't small, though: Thailand hosted $10.4 billion in domestic stablecoin activity and Vietnam $6.9 billion.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Singapore's crypto activity grow in the year ended June 2026?
Chainalysis told Cointelegraph that Singapore's crypto activity rose 55.4% to $284 billion in the year ended June 2026. That made Singapore the largest crypto economy in Central and Southeast Asia and Oceania again, while the broader region contracted 6.8%.
What drove institutional crypto activity in Singapore?
Chainalysis said institutional platform activity in Singapore rose 94% to $60 billion. The activity was concentrated among a small number of market makers, OTC trading firms and institutional brokerages, and was marked mostly by high-volume activity from existing platforms rather than new services.
How are stablecoins used in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam?
Chainalysis said cross-border stablecoin activity exceeded domestic activity in every market it analyzed, and was 3.2 times larger across the region. Thailand and Vietnam hosted domestic stablecoin markets of $10.4 billion and $6.9 billion. PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba estimated 5% to 10% of inbound Philippine remittances settle in stablecoins.
