Over 40% of Singaporeans Own Crypto: Survey

Cryptocurrency adoption in Singapore has surged to levels from 2021.

43% of the 1,500 Singaporean respondents in a recent Independent Reserve survey said they own some amount of cryptocurrencies. In comparison, last year’s research estimated the figure to be around 40%, while the adoption levels were 43% in 2021 (during the bull run).

77% of the HODLers said they have two or more digital assets, with diversifying portfolios being the main reason behind the investment.

The New Trends Following the Market’s Revival
Apart from the surging crypto adoption, Singaporeans have shown increased knowledge, with 91% saying they are aware of the asset class. Bitcoin is the most popular, with 87% recognition, while Ethereum ranks second with 51%.

“The rising popularity of altcoins shows that more Singaporeans are beginning to gain more awareness about other cryptocurrencies apart from Bitcoin.

This is a promising sign for the industry as more investors gain exposure to various types of blockchains and projects that have innovative utility and potential to be adopted more widely for real-world applications and use cases,” Lasanka Perera – CEO of Independent Reserve Singapore – said.

Diversifying portfolios remains the primary reason behind entering the ecosystem (54%). The figure is even higher when speaking of investors with 5+ years of experience (68%) while getting rich (48%) is placed second.

Half of the people who jumped on the bandwagon during the past 12 months said they were influenced by family members, friends, or social media.

Youngsters are much more active in the industry than older generations. Those aged 26 to 35 years have the best knowledge in the field. 59% of the 18 to 25-year-old group thinks better education is a top factor for gaining trust towards digital assets, compared to 53% in 2022.

Most Long-Term Holders Have Registered Profits
The turbulent 2022 has affected short-term confidence in cryptocurrencies. Despite that, 72% of all HODLers said they would recommend investing in digital assets to friends and family.

78% of those who have been part of the ecosystem for over five years saw the value of their crypto increase. On the other hand, 40% of the individuals who started investing less than a year ago had reported losses.

Female Investors are on the Rise
Independent Reserve determined that 37% of the female participants have invested in cryptocurrencies, up 7% from the last year’s figures.

Women have also outperformed men in gaining profits, with 76% admitting they have either made some money or broke even. At the same time, 72% of male investors confirmed the same.

A quarter of the females have distributed over 20% of their wealth to the asset class, with 48% planning to invest even more in the future.

Higher Income Fuels Greater Investment
Subsequently, the research found out that the investment amount depends on the people’s salaries. Just 8% of Singaporean investors who earn up to $4,999 a month revealed allocating $1,000 or more per month to crypto. In contrast, 53% of the people with salaries higher than $10,000 distribute $1K monthly.

Every fourth HODLer invests over $1,000 every 30 days in digital assets, a 4% increase from 2022. The share of those purchasing crypto worth $10,000 or more on a monthly basis has risen by 1%.

“Higher-income earners are likely to allocate more of their investment portfolio towards cryptocurrency. Overall, the higher-income groups say their cryptocurrency investments have made money, or they broke even.

The S$7,000 to S$9,000 income segment, who allocated the highest portion of their investment portfolio towards cryptocurrency, has 67% claiming to have made a profit. They are also the segment that is the most confident about the long-term viability of the cryptocurrency market.” the study outlined.