Cryptocurrencies are gaining traction in Singapore, especially among younger investors. A survey of 1,000 Singaporeans carried out by Toluna, a consumer insights provider, has shown that 43% of Singaporeans own crypto and that 74% of them have increased their wealth by using it as an investment.
Fast facts
- The survey is said to have been based on an “unbiased sample of everyday adult Singaporeans” that was “reflective of the gender, age, and geographic distribution of the nation,” excluding Singapore’s expatriate community, according to the Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index 2021. Independent Reserve, which commissioned the survey, is a major Australian cryptocurrency exchange that expanded its services to Singapore last January.
- Among the survey’s respondents, ownership for those under the age bracket of 26 to 45 was 66%, while all the other age groups scored around 29%. Slightly more than half of male Singaporeans, or 51%, owned some cryptocurrency compared to 35% of women.
- Nearly half — or 46% — of respondents said they planned to buy cryptocurrency in the next 12 months, with those under 45 twice as likely to purchase it as other age groups, the data showed.
- Cryptocurrency holders in the 26-45 age bracket had the most diverse portfolios, with 58% of them owning Bitcoin, 38% owning Ethereum, and 36% owning various other tokens. In comparison, the average ownership for all other age groups was Bitcoin at 22% and ETH at 11%, with the next-most popular tokens showing between 3% and 7% ownership.
- In late June, Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako announced a 500% increase in trading volume and an increase of more than 700% in the average number of users trading on its platform each month during the first five months of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020.
- Yet the use of cryptocurrency as payments appears to be stalling in Singapore. Retailers are reluctant to accept cryptocurrencies even as large finance sector players offer crypto products and beef up their holdings.