Singapore ranked first in Multipolitan’s Crypto Friendly Cities Index 2026.

The city-state place ahead of London and New York despite tighter digital-asset rules reshape its crypto market.

Multipolitan, a migration and wealth advisory firm, said the ranking looked beyond tax at regulation, legal clarity, and real-world adoption.

Singapore’s tighter rules included an April consultation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on the prudential treatment of crypto assets on permissionless blockchains.

New rules require certain digital token service providers to obtain licenses or stop operating.

Authorities have indicated licenses will be granted only in limited cases.

MAS-backed Project Guardian said tokenization trials had resulted in live use cases across asset and wealth management, fixed income, and foreign exchange, including tokenized funds, bonds, stablecoins, and bank liabilities.

Singapore’s crypto payment ecosystem also handled nearly US$1 billion in merchant payments in the second quarter of 2024.

🔗 Source: Multipolitan