Singapore Surpasses US to Become Global Leader in Crypto Adoption, Bybit Report Reveals

Forget Wall Street—the new crypto capital sits in Southeast Asia. A fresh report from Bybit shows Singapore has officially leapfrogged the United States to claim the top spot in global cryptocurrency adoption. The shift signals a dramatic realignment in where digital asset innovation and mainstream acceptance are taking root.

Regulatory Clarity Wins the Race

While the U.S. grapples with a patchwork of state and federal guidelines, Singapore's proactive, centralized approach through the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is paying dividends. The city-state's clear licensing framework for digital payment token services has given businesses and investors something they crave more than volatility: certainty. This isn't just about friendly rules—it's about building a hub where crypto companies can actually plan for a future beyond the next regulatory crackdown.

The Institutional Money Follows

This top ranking isn't driven by retail speculation alone. Singapore's ascent mirrors a surge in institutional capital seeking a stable gateway into digital assets. Family offices, hedge funds, and asset managers are deploying capital through Singapore-based entities, drawn by its robust financial infrastructure and its position as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto economy. It turns out that when you treat crypto like a legitimate asset class, legitimate investors show up—with deeper pockets.

A Blueprint or an Anomaly?

Singapore's rise poses a critical question for other financial centers: is this a replicable model or a unique advantage? Its small, manageable size allowed for swift, cohesive policy action—a luxury larger, more fragmented nations don't have. The report suggests other jurisdictions now face a choice: adapt their frameworks to compete for this high-value industry or risk watching the future of finance get built elsewhere. After all, capital flows to where it's treated best, even if that means bypassing the usual suspects—a truth as old as finance itself, just now applied to its newest, most disruptive iteration.

The global crypto map is being redrawn, not by hype, but by policy and infrastructure. And for now, all roads lead to Singapore.

Singapore has surpassed the United States to rank as the world's leading country for cryptocurrency adoption, according to an index published Tuesday by cryptocurrency exchange Bybit in partnership with DL Research.

The World crypto Rankings assessed 79 countries across 28 metrics and 92 data points, examining regulatory frameworks, institutional readiness, and user penetration. The US fell from first place, with Lithuania, Switzerland and the UAE rounding out the top five.

Asia-Pacific markets claimed six positions in the top 20, led by Singapore at number one, Vietnam at nine, and Hong Kong at ten. Australia ranked eleventh, the Philippines seventeenth, and South Korea twentieth.

Helen Liu, co-CEO of Bybit, said in a statement that Asia-Pacific's performance demonstrates the region is setting the pace for the industry through regulatory leadership and grassroots momentum.

Singapore's top ranking reflects regulatory clarity, institutional maturity and high user engagement, according to the report. Over 11% of Singaporeans hold cryptocurrency, representing the highest user penetration rate globally. The city-state's licensing regime has attracted major exchanges and fintech firms.

Vietnam emerged as the highest-ranked developing market, driven by grassroots adoption rather than institutional infrastructure. Nearly 20% of Vietnam's population owns digital assets, primarily for remittances, savings and inflation protection. The country ranked first globally for transactional use and decentralized physical infrastructure device adoption.

Hong Kong's tenth-place ranking marks a recovery following its regulatory overhaul and new licensing framework. User penetration ranks eighth globally, with the report describing Hong Kong as bridging Western and Asian financial models through stablecoins and tokenization.

The report identified three major trends: growth in real-world asset tokenization, which increased 63% to over $25.7 billion since January; emergence of local currency-pegged stablecoins in markets seeking reduced dollar dependence; and expansion of crypto payroll, with 9.6% of professionals receiving partial salary in cryptocurrency in 2024, up from 3% in 2023.