- Vietnam and Hong Kong enter the global top 10.
- Six Asia-Pacific markets appear in the top 20.
- Tokenisation rises 63% to more than 25.7 billion dollars.
Singapore’s ascent to the top of global crypto adoption marks a broader shift in how digital assets are embedding themselves across the Asia-Pacific region.
A new index published by Bybit and DL Research shows the region gaining influence as clearer regulation, growing retail participation and new blockchain use cases reshape where innovation is happening.
The findings reveal that real-world asset tokenisation, local stablecoins and crypto payrolls are spreading through markets that traditionally relied on conventional financial systems, placing the Asia-Pacific at the center of the industry’s next phase.
Regional leadership intensifies
The World Crypto Rankings assessed 79 countries using 28 metrics and 92 data points to examine regulation, institutional readiness and levels of user engagement.
Singapore claimed the top position, overtaking the United States, which slipped in this latest edition.
Lithuania, Switzerland and the UAE completed the upper tier, signaling a shift away from the Western-heavy rankings seen in earlier years.
Asia-Pacific delivered one of the strongest performances, with six of its markets ranked within the global top 20.
Vietnam reached ninth place, while Hong Kong secured tenth as its regulatory reset took effect.
Australia followed closely in eleventh, while the Philippines and South Korea placed seventeenth and twentieth, respectively.
This distribution indicates that adoption patterns are broadening as regional economies align regulation with user demand and market development.
New drivers behind adoption
The report outlines how each market is advancing for different reasons.
Singapore’s top ranking reflects a clear regulatory framework, a structured licensing regime and high levels of participation.
Vietnam stands out for a different kind of growth. Nearly 20% of its population owns digital assets, primarily for remittances, savings and protection against inflation.
The index shows Vietnam ranks first globally for transactional use and for adoption of decentralized physical infrastructure devices.
These findings suggest the country’s progress is being driven from the ground up, with retail users accounting for the majority of activity.
Hong Kong’s tenth-place ranking reflects efforts to rebuild confidence following regulatory changes and the introduction of a new licensing system. Its user penetration places it eighth globally.
The report notes the city is positioning itself as a hybrid of Western and Asian financial structures, with stablecoins and tokenisation acting as key catalysts for recovery.
Emerging trends gain global traction
Beyond rankings, the findings highlight three trends shaping global behaviour.
Real-world asset tokenisation has expanded by 63% to more than $25.7 billion since January.
This growth indicates rising interest in converting traditional assets into blockchain-native formats for trading and settlement.
Local currency–pegged stablecoins are also gaining ground. These tokens are emerging in markets that want to reduce reliance on the dollar while supporting domestic and cross-border transactions.
Their adoption points to increasing comfort with digital settlement mechanisms among both institutional and retail users.
Together, these trends reflect a broader shift toward integrating digital assets into everyday financial activity, moving them beyond purely speculative instruments and into practical use across payments, payrolls and asset management.