A significant shift is occurring in Asian wealth management, with a recent survey indicating that six out of ten high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) across Asia intend to substantially increase their cryptocurrency allocations over the next two to five years. The Sygnum APAC HNWI Report 2025, which polled 270 investors each with over $1 million in investable assets and over ten years of professional experience, reveals a profound change in perception. Digital assets are now viewed not as speculative instruments but as essential tools for long-term wealth preservation and intergenerational legacy planning.
An overwhelming 90% of respondents cited this long-term wealth preservation as a key reason for their interest, marking a fundamental departure from earlier speculative mentalities. The survey found deep existing engagement: 87% of those surveyed already hold cryptocurrency, and approximately half have allocated more than 10% of their total portfolio to the asset class, with an average allocation of around 17%.
"Digital assets are now firmly embedded within APAC’s private wealth ecosystem," said Gerald Goh, Sygnum co-founder and APAC CEO. "Despite near-term macro uncertainty, we continue to see accelerating adoption driven by strategic portfolio diversification, intergenerational wealth planning, and demand for institutional-grade products." Goh emphasized that these investors have a "different psychology" than the 2017 'get rich quick' mentality, describing them as investors with 10-20 year time horizons.
The survey, which included participants from ten APAC countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand, also found that 80% of active investors hold blockchain protocol tokens like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL). The most common reason for investing, cited by 56% of respondents, was portfolio diversification.
Furthermore, 87% of investors stated they would ask their private bank or advisor to add crypto services if offered through regulated partners, highlighting a demand for institutional-grade products. Gerald Goh commented on the regulatory environment, noting that authorities like Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have created "genuine clarity on custody standards, operational requirements, and investor protections," which, while rigorous, fosters the development of institutional-grade service providers.
This trend signals a maturation of the cryptocurrency market, with the actions of Asia's financial elite expected to lend credibility, shape market development, influence regulatory discussions, and drive product innovation in the coming years.
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