In a recent report by Coingecko Research, it was revealed that Singapore and the Philippines are the frontrunners in Southeast Asia’s growing interest in cryptocurrencies. The two countries have dominated the region’s crypto landscape, with Singapore accounting for a 43.5% share and the Philippines holding 40.3% on a per capita basis.

Singapore, often regarded as a crypto hub not only in Southeast Asia but also in Asia as a whole, has consistently shown strong enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies. It was previously ranked as the third most crypto-curious country globally and has been a leading player in web3 gaming for three consecutive years.

The Philippines, driven primarily by the GameFi sector, has maintained its position as the top web3 gaming country since 2021. The country witnessed the rise of Axie Infinity, with its own gaming guilds and inspiring rags-to-riches success stories. Additionally, the Philippines was among the top meme coin countries earlier this year, alongside Malaysia.

While Singapore and the Philippines take the lead, other countries in Southeast Asia, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, have also shown moderate levels of interest in cryptocurrencies. Combined, these four countries represent 14.7% of regional crypto interest per capita year to date.

Malaysia, in particular, stands out with a higher share of regional crypto interest compared to its impact on the crypto industry. Notably, two of the most commonly used crypto data tools, CoinGecko and Etherscan, were founded by Malaysian teams and are headquartered in the country.

Vietnam, following the footsteps of Singapore and the Philippines, has demonstrated a strong interest in GameFi and has also emerged as a top web3 gaming country for three years.

On the other hand, smaller economies in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, and Timor-Leste, have shown the least interest in cryptocurrencies. Collectively, these countries hold a mere 1.5% share of regional crypto interest per capita, indicating untapped markets for the crypto industry. However, the adoption of cryptocurrencies in these countries is unlikely to improve in the near term, except for Brunei, which is a wealthy nation.

In terms of the specific cryptocurrencies that have caught the attention of Southeast Asian countries in 2023, Layer 1 projects, GameFi, meme coins, and DeFi-related cryptocurrencies have been the most popular. These narratives account for the top 18 cryptocurrencies in the region, with each category representing 22.2% of the total.

The Philippines, known for its GameFi enthusiasm, continues to favor GameFi projects, including Axie Infinity’s Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Ronin (RON), as well as Wemix (WEMIX). In Malaysia, investors are keeping a close eye on DeFi cryptos such as Maple (MPL) and BoringDAO (BORING). Interestingly, Malaysia’s crypto community appears to be more crypto-native compared to neighboring countries.

The top crypto rankings in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia showcase a mix of narratives. In Singapore, The Graph (GRT), an infrastructure and analytics protocol, has been the most popular crypto this year. Vietnam’s interest revolves around Aptos (APT) and privacy tool Bob (BOB). Thailand has shown a preference for Gala Games’ Gala (GALA) and the layer 1 project Canto (CANTO). Lastly, investors in Indonesia are closely monitoring the crypto AI project Not Financial Advice (NFAI) and the decentralized exchange governance token AirSwap (AST).

As the crypto industry continues to evolve, Southeast Asia remains an important region to watch. Singapore and the Philippines lead the way, showcasing their strong crypto interest, while other countries in the region demonstrate their growing curiosity and involvement in the crypto space.

Source: https://azcoinnews.com/singapore-and-the-philippines-dominate-southeast-asias-crypto-scene-in-2023-coingecko-research.html