Crypto Spreading Among the Wealthy in Singapore, Hong Kong: KPMG

A KPMG survey of 30 family offices and wealthy individuals found the majority have already invested in crypto in one way or another

article-image

Hong Kong skyline | Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • KPMG reported a clear appetite for digital assets among some of Singapore and Hong Kong’s wealthiest investors
  • All respondents already invested in crypto held bitcoin but less than half disclosed DeFi tokens

Big Four accounting firm KPMG has indicated big interest in the crypto market from the wealthy elite of Singapore and Hong Kong.

KPMG surveyed 30 family offices and high net worth individuals across both regions for its inaugural Investing in Digital Assets report.

Of survey respondents, 58% reported skin in the crypto game while a further 34% intend to allocate funds to bitcoin, stablecoins and ether, as well as DeFi opportunities.

KPMG only gathered responses from investors whose assets under management ranged between $10 million to $500 million. Of the 58% already invested in crypto:

  • 100% held bitcoin,
  • 87% disclosed ether,
  • 60% bought NFTs and other metaverse tokens, and
  • 47% had DeFi tokens.

Beyond the actual assets, 58% of respondents also said they were investing in crypto service providers, including exchanges and software developers.

The study was conducted jointly between KPMG China and financial services company Aspen Digital. Results were taken during the second quarter of this year. At the time, markets across the board were in turmoil with macroeconomic conditions, such as rising inflation, taking center stage.

KPMG found interest in crypto has mainly been driven by prospects of high returns, portfolio diversification and increased confidence in the market following institutional uptake.

It wasn’t all bullish, though, with respondents stating the industry needs more mature methodologies for valuing crypto, the lack of which has given some investors pause.

Wealthy investors are keen on crypto’s “store of wealth” proposition alongside decentralized finance | Source: KPMG

Not to mention, most already invested only allocated 5% of their portfolio to the digital asset class, a figure dampened by uncertainty around regulations and accounting standards.

The findings echo crypto exchange Bitstamp’s April Crypto Pulse survey which found that 80% of institutional investors believe crypto stood poised to overtake traditional investment vehicles within a decade.

KPMG overall found regulatory uncertainty continues to be a roadblock for major players across Singapore and Hong Kong, with investors hungry for a clear regulatory framework that balances both investor protections and industry growth.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

kamino cover.jpg

Research

Kamino has solidified its position as the leading money market on Solana and is emerging as a DeFi bluechip. Although DeFi competition is fierce, Kamino has kept iterating on its product to provide the best-in-class UX, paired with a robust risk management framework and battle-tested infrastructure. Given the rollout of Kamino Lend V2, the protocol may scale aggressively over the coming months, penetrating previously untapped markets in Solana DeFi.

article-image

Also in the tokenized fund space, Franklin Templeton launches on Base and Securitize hits $1 billion in tokenized RWA onchain

article-image

It turns out that bitcoin never actually hit an all-time high in March. Thanks a lot, inflation.

article-image

Spire, Citrea and Nillion also announced raises this week

article-image

The latest recipient of an SEC Wells notice is a Web3 gaming company

article-image

Thursday’s selloff was led by tech stocks, triggered by disappointing outlooks from giants Meta and Microsoft

article-image

Historically, positive returns have been a bit more of a toss-up during the year’s 11th month