Asia’s adoption of crypto and stablecoins is driving regulated growth in payments and remittances, with Singapore, Hong Kong, India, and Korea each taking distinct approaches to embedding digital assets into financial systems.
In today’s newsletter, Hassan Ahmed outlines the state of crypto, stablecoins and regulations in Asia. Xin Yan, CEO of Sign, also answers questions about crypto and stablecoin adoption in the region.
The reality of crypto in Asia
The idea that Asia is an emerging market trying to catch up on crypto is outdated. Asia is one of the most integrated markets for digital assets. Jurisdictions across the region are already embedding digital assets — including stablecoins — into financial infrastructure across payments, settlement, treasury and remittances, treating them as more than speculative trading tools.
The clearest evidence is the region’s stablecoin flow. Asia accounted for $12.5 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume in 2025, a 67% jump from $7.5 trillion the year prior — the highest of any region globally. This volume did not come from speculative trading. It reflects real utility, as businesses and individuals use stablecoins to move money faster and more cheaply across borders.
Singapore as a case study
Singapore presents a strong example of what a well-run regulatory framework looks like in practice. A study conducted by Coinbase and MoneyHero Group found that 61% of finance-forward Singaporeans now hold crypto. Among these holders, Gen Z ownership doubled from 18% to 36% in a single year — a sharp contrast to the early days, when ownership was concentrated among tech enthusiasts and early adopters.
This did not happen by chance. Singapore built a deliberate regulatory runway spanning nearly a decade, with regulators and industry moving in tandem at each stage. As early as 2016, Singapore launched Project Ubin for blockchain infrastructure trials and later established a licensing framework for digital payment tokens through the Payment Services Act. This was followed in 2019 by institutional DeFi pilots, Project Guardian in 2022, and most recently BLOOM in 2025 to deepen institutional infrastructure.
The result is a market where regulatory clarity, institutional infrastructure and industry participants operate in sync. Singapore is home to over 700 fintech firms and more than 300 Web3 companies, with institutional crypto trading volumes in the tens of billions.
Significant use cases across Asia
Adoption across Asia is structurally diverse. While other regions tend to concentrate around a single use case, Asian markets are leading in different areas, shaped by their regulatory environments and economic structures. Hong Kong, Korea and India are prime examples of how adoption can take different forms.
Hong Kong has positioned itself as a hub for institutional digital asset activity through intentional pilot programmes and clear regulation. Spot bitcoin and ether ETFs were approved in 2024, giving institutional investors direct, regulated exposure to crypto for the first time. In early 2026, two stablecoin licences were issued to HSBC and Standard Chartered-led groups — a significant step toward mainstream institutional integration.
Source: How Asia Is Building Regulated Crypto Infrastructure at Scale