Singapore’s Bitcoin Politician Jeremy Tan Aims to Upend Finance—And Maybe Save Democracy
Jeremy Tan isn’t your typical candidate. The Singaporean Bitcoin advocate is running for office on a platform that cuts through political doublespeak—literally putting blockchain’s transparency promises to the test.
Disrupting the status quo: Tan’s campaign targets Singapore’s financial infrastructure, proposing Bitcoin as a hedge against central bank overreach. ’When fiat fails, crypto prevails,’ he tells Blockcast listeners—a not-so-subtle jab at monetary policymakers playing fast and loose with inflation.
The bigger play: This isn’t just about digital gold. Tan’s movement could force traditional parties to address crypto’s role in sovereignty—before decentralized networks make their power obsolete.
This week we have a special guest, Jeremy Tan, the independent candidate for Mountbatten SMC who garnered a surprising 36% of the vote in Singapore’s general election by centering his campaign on, among other things, Bitcoin adoption. Jeremy discusses his motivations for bringing Bitcoin into the political arena, highlighting the need for Singapore to consider it as a hedge against US dollar instability, and addresses the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) cautious stance on crypto, suggesting a disconnect between the official narrative and behind-the-scenes activity.
Jeremy Tan’s Strong Showing in Singapore Election Signals Growing crypto AwarenessTan’s campaign has undeniably planted a seed, demonstrating that digital assets are no longer a fringe topic but a subject of serious consideration for a growing segment of the population.
A key focus is Tan’s proposal for a Singapore Dollar-denominated bitcoin ETF (BITS ETF) and its potential to act as a "liquidity sponge" for family offices and provide Singaporeans with a new avenue for retirement savings, moving away from the reliance on property as the primary asset. He also advocates for the inclusion of Bitcoin in Singapore’s official foreign reserves, arguing that "Gold is an inferior reserve commodity to Bitcoin. We need to embrace the future or risk getting left behind."
Blockcast is hosted by Head of APAC at Ledger, Takatoshi Shibayama. Previous episodes of Blockcast can be found here, with guests like Alex Ryvkin (Rho), Hassan Ahmed (Coinbase), Sota Watanabe (Startale), Nic Young (Oh), Jacob Phillips (Lombard), Chris Yu (SignalPlus), Kathy Zhu (Mezo), Jess Zeng (Mantle), Samar Sen (Talos), Jason Choi (Tangent), Lasanka Perera (Independent Reserve), Mark Rydon (Aethir), Luca Prosperi (M^0), Charles Hoskinson (Cardano), and Yat Siu (Animoca Brands) on our recent shows.
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