Singapore Tops Crypto Adoption Index as Industry Grapples with Declining Client Base
Henley & Partners' Crypto Wealth Report for 2026 has been released, highlighting Singapore as the top destination for crypto adoption for a fourth consecutive year. However, buried within the report are two key findings that paint a more nuanced picture of the industry's health.
The first is a decline in the number of individuals holding at least $1 million in crypto assets, from 172,300 in 2024 to 135,694 in 2026. This represents a drop of approximately 21% over two years, according to data tracked by Crypto.news.
Henley & Partners has attributed this decline to changes in methodology, but the discrepancy highlights the industry's struggle with consistent headcounts and accurate tracking of client bases.
A second, more significant finding comes from an essay titled 'Beyond the Wallet: Tracing the Source of Crypto Wealth' by Henley associate Daniel Hartnett. He notes that while a wallet can prove control over digital assets, it cannot explain how those assets were acquired or where the underlying wealth originated.
Hartnett warns that documentation becomes increasingly difficult to retrieve as time passes, with exchanges closing, businesses winding down, and records disappearing. He advises applicants to reconstruct their wealth accumulation pathways early on, before a residence or citizenship application forces the issue.