Study: Singapore a global leader in digital-asset regulation
Singapore has been identified as a preeminent global market for digital-asset regulation, according to a report from the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) in collaboration with strategy consultancy firm Arthur D. Little.
The study was officially launched at the Singapore FinTech Festival from 11 to 14 November 2025. The report places Singapore among the world’s top jurisdictions for advancing regulated digital finance, ranking it alongside Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates in regulatory maturity. The findings emphasize how Singapore’s framework for investor protection and market integrity is establishing international standards for innovation in the sector.
As part of the major efforts to put effective regulations in place and ultimately position itself as a leader in digital finance industry, stablecoins have been a major focus for Singapore and other leaders in digital finance. Stablecoins have swiftly evolved from a crypto-native innovation into a cornerstone of the digital finance industry.
Market growth
The significance of these regulatory advances is underscored by rapid global market growth. The report highlights that the market for tokenized real-world assets has experienced an expansion of 380% since 2022, a surge which has primarily been driven by institutional pilot programs.
Global stablecoin transactions have accumulated to a total of $263 trillion since 2019, with $40 trillion of that occurring in just the past 12 months. These figures show why 31% of global regulators surveyed identify the oversight of stablecoin issuers as their primary supervisory concern, while forty-six percent see programmable finance as the next major market opportunity.
The comprehensive study draws on interviews with over forty regulators, central bankers, and financial executives across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, offering a vital cross-jurisdictional reference for policymakers and financial institutions.
“The data shows a region that has moved from aspiration to execution. Behind the numbers is a simple reality: Capital follows clarity,” said Sopnendu Mohanty, group CEO of GFTN.
He added that regulators are building frameworks designed for longevity, not just hype, and their focus on interoperability and real-world tokenization sets them apart from markets still testing the basics.
Cyber-attacks and related risks
The report also focuses on the significant operational and financial risks related to cyber-attacks on wallets and protocols. This is a defining challenge for Asia, which leads in tokenization pilots and high-volume cross-border payment systems, such as the prominent Project Nexus, which is a program that aims to connect instant payment systems across various Asian nations, including Singapore.
The study reveals that a significant portion of stolen global digital funds have been linked to private key compromises, along with losses arising from data breaches and various smart-contract vulnerabilities. To combat these threats, jurisdictions such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan have established crypto-specific anti-money laundering frameworks and are prioritizing the deployment of advanced AI and blockchain analytics to enhance real-time detection of suspicious financial flows.
Overall, the findings emphasize how Singapore’s framework for investor protection and market integrity is establishing international standards for innovation in the sector.
To protect client funds, the Monetary Authority of Singapore requires Digital Payment Token service providers to segregate customers’ assets from their own and to hold them under a statutory trust. This measure is designed to mitigate the risk of loss or misuse of customer assets and facilitates their recovery should a service provider become insolvent.
