Wealthy individuals and family offices in Asia are markedly boosting their exposure to cryptocurrencies, driven by strong returns, regulatory advances, and growing institutional infrastructure. According to interviews with regional wealth managers and exchange executives, inquiries about digital-asset allocations have surged, and trading volumes on Asian platforms have climbed by over 20% year-to-date.
In Hong Kong, the recent passage of comprehensive stablecoin legislation has emboldened local family offices to integrate on-chain dollar-pegged tokens into their asset mixes. Meanwhile, the U.S. Genetic Innovation and Efficient User-Friendly Stablecoin Support (GENIUS) Act has catalyzed global confidence in stablecoin frameworks, prompting Chinese investors to consider crypto alongside traditional hedges like gold.
Jason Huang, founder of Singapore’s NextGen Digital Venture, told Reuters that his new long-short crypto equity fund closed its seed round at over $100 million in July, with participation from leading family offices across Greater China. UBS reports that several Chinese family offices intend to raise their crypto allocations to as much as 5% of total assets under management, citing diversification benefits and uncorrelated performance versus equities and bonds.
Bitcoin’s surge past $124,000 in August has reinforced its macro hedge narrative, and Ether’s robust DeFi activity has drawn interest for yield-seeking strategies. In Singapore and South Korea, younger members of wealthy families are leveraging market-neutral arbitrage and basis trades, facilitated by advanced algorithmic trading desks at major exchanges such as HashKey and Korbit.
Regional wealth managers emphasize that institutional-grade custody solutions and prime-brokerage services have matured significantly, removing earlier barriers for high-net-worth investors. Fidelity International’s Asia-Pacific digital-assets head, Giselle Lai, noted that Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as “digital gold,” while stablecoins are adopted for treasury management and cross-border remittances.
Despite heightened interest, caution persists around regulatory shifts in mainland China and potential tax changes in Singapore. Some conservative offices maintain modest allocations below 2%, awaiting further clarity on compliance protocols. Nevertheless, the prevailing sentiment is that crypto will occupy a permanent allocation band within diversified portfolios, joining equities, bonds, and real assets as a core component of wealth preservation and long-term growth strategies.
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