It’s a milestone that’s been on global cryptocurrency enthusiasts’ minds for many years. Bitcoin’s recent rally to a value of US$100,000 has helped uncover Southeast Asia’s sky-high enthusiasm for crypto adoption and development.
The scale of Bitcoin’s ongoing rally is the topic of much debate, but its resonance in Asian economies appears assured regardless of the direction that the coin takes in the months ahead.
According to the 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) lead the world in crypto adoption with seven of the top 20 most active nations for both centralised and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols.
At the forefront of this growth was Indonesia, which surpassed US$30 billion (IDR 475.13 trillion) in cryptocurrency transactions between January and October 2024, representing a growth of 352.89 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2023.
However, we’re also seeing widespread change at an institutional level, which could see significant growth in the number of cryptocurrency use cases in 2025 and beyond throughout the region. With interest in crypto reaching new levels in Southeast Asia, Bitcoin is becoming more accessible than ever before.
Proliferation of crypto services
Bitcoin’s recent growth has brought a series of watershed moments for Asian adoption of crypto. In November, ZA Bank, Hong Kong’s first and largest digital bank, became the continent’s first institution to offer cryptocurrency trading services directly to retail investors.
With ZA Bank’s app, it’s possible for users to frictionlessly trade cryptoucrrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum without the need for switching platforms in the process.
In November 2024, Japanese firm AEON announced the launch of a QR code payment system on Binance’s BNB Chain with Terminus, helping to scale crypto payment accessibility in Southeast Asia.
The tools are intended to make cryptocurrency payments a seamless experience for users and merchants, and the initiative could help leverage more offline cryptocurrency payments throughout the region.
Cryptocurrency payments have been identified as a leading payment trend due to their flexibility and security qualities, and opening the door to making purchases with coins like Bitcoin represents a major step toward acceptance.
Focused on leveraging Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset to optimise financial strategies and drive stakeholder value, Sora Ventures has launched a US$150 million fund to grow Bitcoin-focused investment strategies among listed companies throughout Asia.
Targeting companies listed on major stock exchanges throughout Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea, the move is a conscious effort to replicate the success of MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin reserve model in the United States.
In the month following the US Presidential election which saw both Wall Street and cryptocurrency markets embark on a rally off the back of Donald Trump’s victory, Bitcoin’s 30% growth eclipsed the 14 per cent experienced by the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS), an exchange-traded fund that focuses on Wall Street’s seven largest companies by market capitalisation.
The expansion of investment options for Southeast Asia’s largest firms can open the door to better-managed growth, and the ability to embrace the historical outperformance of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin fully.
The world’s developer capital
It’s also important to highlight Southeast Asia’s invaluable role among crypto developers, with the continent surpassing North America in recent years to attain a strong market share.
Since 2015, Asia’s share of global cryptocurrency developers has rallied from just 13 per cent to 32 per cent, while North America’s market share fell from 44 per cent to 25 per cent over the same period.
While India has been a driving force in Asia’s newfound crypto dominance, nations like China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore have all helped to build a conducive infrastructure for crypto developers.
According to Singapore-based fund manager, Anndy Lian, the emerging markets of India and Southeast Asia where traditional banking infrastructure can be less accessible, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have helped to democratise financial services to residents.
It’s this necessity for innovation that appears to be positioning Southeast Asia at the forefront of crypto innovation, and the benefits are being reaped by retail investors and institutions alike.
According to a recent National Thailand report, nations like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines possess high smartphone penetration rates, making cryptocurrency far more accessible during its ongoing market rally. As a result, we could see far more sustained adoption rates for crypto and DeFi services developed locally.
Challenges remain
Despite clear indications that Southeast Asia is embracing the ongoing cryptocurrency rally more enthusiastically than ever before, a number of challenges remain.
Cryptocurrency is famously volatile and open to exploitation among unwitting users. With Bitcoin’s historical bull runs giving way to substantial losses, both retail and institutional adopters will need to be wary of buying into crypto.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.
