In This Newsletter
Global Digital Asset Adoption: Asia
Revisiting the Digital-Asset Treasury Phenomenon
Policy Updates: Rules, Reports, and Executive Orders
Global Digital Asset Adoption: Asia
The latest installment of the FinTech Program’s insights series, Global Digital Asset Adoption in Asia, explores the region’s role as a key proving ground for the use and regulation of digital assets. Asia accounted for six of the top 10 countries in Chainalysis’ 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, underscoring the region’s status as one of the most active markets worldwide. Demand is driven by strong public digital infrastructure, growing digital and mobile payments, consumer appetite for accessible alternative assets, and institutional capital flows into emerging hubs.
The article explores how different markets showcase different models. In the Philippines, for instance, stablecoins are piloted as tools offering 24/7, lower-cost alternatives to reduce the cost of the country’s $35 billion in remittance flows. As another example, Hong Kong is reestablishing itself as a global hub through regulatory clarity and tax incentives designed to attract institutional capital. Meanwhile, Singapore continues to prioritize an institutional-first framework, combining strict licensing and consumer protection requirements with rising retail participation.
Our reviews highlight Asia’s dual track: institutional hubs focused on regulatory certainty and capital flows, and retail-led markets experimenting with consumer applications. Both pathways offer lessons for policymakers judging how to balance innovation with investor protections.
Please join our Asia Summit 2025 this coming October for more public programming on digital assets and FinTech in Asia.
Revisiting the Digital-Asset Treasury Phenomenon
The corporate embrace of digital assets as treasury holdings is back in the spotlight. Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has long led the charge, with more than 600,000 Bitcoin (BTC)—worth approximately $65–69 billion—on its balance sheet. Despite meeting the technical eligibility criteria, following a strong Q2 performance driven by Bitcoin gains, Strategy was not admitted into the S&P 500 this September.
The company’s shares fell approximately 3 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement. Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the move likely came at the discretion of the S&P 500’s index committee, rather than from any rules-based exclusion. Strategy remains a viable candidate for future cycles, CoinCentral writes, with its market cap, profitability, and liquidity still aligned with S&P criteria.
The exclusion came as Robinhood, along with AppLovin and Emcor Group, secured places in the S&P 500, with changes effective September 22, MarketWatch reports.
The digital asset treasury trend now extends beyond BTC. As of mid-2025, 163 public companies held nearly 962,000 BTC on their balance sheets. Ethereum (ETH) is gaining traction, with firms holding more than 1.7 million ETH, attracted by staking yields and decentralized finance (DeFi) utility, Reuters reports. According to Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz, the boom in new digital asset treasury companies may be slowing and entering a stage of consolidation into a few key market leaders, as noted in Galaxy Digital’s Q2 earnings call.
Despite the hype, some are asking questions about the sustainability of digital asset treasuries. Nasdaq has started requiring shareholder approval and enhanced disclosures for firms raising capital to buy crypto, and noncompliant companies risk delisting, The Defiant reports. The Financial Times discussed the downside risks that Bitcoin treasury companies could carry, citing potential structural fragility if Bitcoin prices decline.
Policy Updates: Rules, Reports, and Executive Orders
Washington is moving quickly on digital asset oversight. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added several items to its rulemaking agenda aimed at integrating crypto into existing market structures, including potential pathways for trading on national exchanges and alternative trading systems, Reuters reports. The agency also launched “Project Crypto,” an initiative to modernize securities rules for on-chain markets, alongside refreshed staff frequently asked questions on crypto asset activities, Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor writes.
The Presidential Working Group (PWG) on Digital Asset Markets released a roadmap this summer outlining stablecoin policy, market structure reforms, and consumer protection priorities. The report features directives to prudential regulators on banking supervision, recaps a ban on a retail central bank digital currency, and discusses a national digital asset reserve, Arnold & Porter writes.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is coordinating closely, launching a “crypto sprint” to implement PWG recommendations and announcing a joint SEC–CFTC roundtable on September 29 to address 24-hour trading, prediction markets, and DeFi.
Outside of crypto-specific policy, an August 7 Executive Order (EO) directed agencies to reduce barriers for 401(k) plans to access diversified alternatives, including digital assets. The EO aims to give fiduciaries clearer guidance and protection when adding nontraditional assets to retirement portfolios.
Looking ahead, asset tokenization is gearing up to enter mainstream markets. Nasdaq filed with financial regulators for permission to trade tokenized securities on its primary exchange, signaling a significant step in merging blockchain rails with the national securities markets, Reuters reports.