Survey: Singapore investor interest in cryptocurrencies key to mainstream adoption

As Singapore continues to play an active role in driving cryptocurrency adoption in the Asia-Pacific region, Independent Reserve, the country's first licensed cryptocurrency exchange, has conducted a retail-focused survey to better understand the regulated market latent potential.

Independent Reserve’s survey of Singapore’s population of all ages and genders reveals a strong affinity for the various financial and other investment opportunities presented by decentralized finance (DeFi).

As Raks Sondhi, managing director of Independent Reserve Singapore, explained, the country’s rapid cryptocurrency adoption is driven by a high level of trust and confidence in the future of cryptocurrencies:

“58% (of Singaporeans surveyed) see bitcoin as an investment asset or store of value.”

Supporting the aforementioned trend, more than half of respondents indicated that they were likely to recommend cryptocurrency investments to friends and family. Nearly 60% of investors in Singapore believe cryptocurrencies have the potential for mass adoption in 2021. This year, however, 15 percent of respondents began to consider bitcoin a true form of money.

Factors that increase investor trust in Singapore Source: Independent Reserve

According to Independent Reserve, increasing investor trust in the Singapore market comes down to addressing seven key factors: transparency of government regulations, education on how it works, corporate use, price stability, secure cryptocurrency options, ease of access and use, non-volatile monitored.

According to the survey, transparency in government regulations will lead to the highest participation among investors in Singapore. The survey also found that investors from high-income households are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency price stability and education are also the top factors influencing crypto investor participation, according to the survey. Despite these concerns, Singaporeans continue to trend upwards towards cryptocurrencies, with buying interest continuing:

“47% plan to increase their investments in their current crypto asset portfolio in the next 12 months.”

At the end of the survey, Independent Reserve highlighted that young people aged 18 to 25 are most willing to invest in DeFi or non-fungible token (NFT) projects.

The Singapore government has passed legislation giving the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) more powers to deal with crypto companies doing business abroad.

According to Cointelegraph, MAS revealed that the latest legislation will require foreign crypto companies to be licensed and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating terrorist financing (CFT) requirements. Speaking on behalf of the new ruling, MAS board member Alvin Tan said:

“Digital token service providers can easily structure their operations to circumvent regulation in either jurisdiction, as they primarily operate online.”

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