Institutionalization and practicality are reshaping market drivers. In the past, capital flows driven by narratives, leverage, and short-term speculation are being replaced by “verifiable utilities” such as compliant frameworks, custody and market-making mechanisms, ETF products, stablecoin settlements, and tokenized assets. Let’s make a simple, understandable, yet profound interpretation of the “2025 Global Crypto Rankings Report” jointly released by Bybit and DL Research.
(Background: BeInCrypto’s Top 100 Award recognized Bybit as one of the “Best Centralized Exchanges” and “Best Exchange in Latin America”)
(Additional context: Ben Zhou predicts that within five years, the distinction between “traditional finance and crypto” will disappear: Bybit is building a clear, efficient, and most trusted trading ecosystem)

Table of Contents

• The Silent Shift of Global Financial Power

  • Seeing Through the Truth Behind Data
  • What is the Four-Dimensional Evaluation of Bybit x DL Research?

• The Battle between the US and Singapore and Europe’s Breakthrough

  • Singapore: The Global Beacon of Institutional Adoption (Ranking #1)
  • USA: The Institutional Dilemma of Capital Giants (Ranking #2)
  • Lithuania: Europe’s Gateway in the MiCA Era (Ranking #3)
  • Switzerland: The Fortress of Traditional Banking in Crypto (Ranking #4)
  • UAE: The Tokenization Hub Connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa (Ranking #5)

• The Polarization of Crypto Economics

  • Wealthy Countries’ Game: Asset Appreciation and Diversification
  • Emerging Markets as Lifelines: Focus on Functionality

• Three Major Forces Reshaping Market Trends

  • RWA: The Trojan Horse of Institutional Entry
  • Stablecoins: Currency Competition and Payment Revolution
    The development of stablecoins has entered a new stage, with localization and functional differentiation.

• Future Outlook and Strategic Opportunities for Taiwan

  • 2026 Outlook: Regulatory Arbitrage and Compliance Migration

  • Implications for Taiwan

• Conclusion

The Silent Shift of Global Financial Power

2025 is destined to be a watershed in the history of FinTech. Let’s carefully review the jointly released “2025 Global Crypto Rankings Report” (World Crypto Rankings 2025, WCR) by Bybit and DL Research. From the data, we witness digital assets transforming from marginal speculative tools into fundamental infrastructure of the global economy.

This comprehensive report covers 79 countries, using 28 indicators and 92 data points. Beyond the rankings, it resembles a geopolitical map of the transfer of global financial power, which is the most compelling aspect.

In the past, market attention on cryptocurrencies mainly focused on Bitcoin’s price volatility or meme coin surges and crashes. But WCR 2025 concerns a deeper trend: Institutionalization and Utility are replacing speculation as the core market drivers.

Singapore surpasses the US to become number one globally, Lithuania and Switzerland enter the top five. These phenomena indicate that sheer market size is no longer the sole measure of crypto economy maturity; “Regulatory Clarity” and “Institutional Integration” are the new powers of financial dominance.

Meanwhile, Chainalysis data shows that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region experienced the fastest on-chain activity growth in the past year, with a 69% increase, from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion in trading volume.

This “East rising, West declining” trend, combined with the rise of stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA), is reshaping the logic of global finance. We analyze this milestone report from methodological innovation, geopolitical power reorganization, asset class evolution, and demand-driven versus investment-driven dual economic forces, and explore its implications for Taiwan’s financial strategy.

Seeing Through the Truth Behind Data

Traditional Indicators

For a long time, the industry’s standard for evaluating the crypto market has been overly simplistic, mainly relying on centralized exchange (CEX) trading volume or total value locked (TVL) on chains. This approach suffers from significant survivorship bias. It overemphasizes the influence of developed countries with large capital reserves (like the US and UK), while neglecting genuine progress in institutional penetration, cultural acceptance, and grassroots utility.

For example, a country with high trading volume may only have a few large quantitative funds or market makers domestically, not reflecting widespread adoption among ordinary citizens or businesses. Chainalysis’ ranking emphasizes “Grassroots Adoption,” so India, Pakistan, and Vietnam often rank high. However, this perspective can sometimes underestimate the infrastructure advantages of mature financial markets.

What is the Four-Dimensional Evaluation of Bybit x DL Research?

To provide a more comprehensive view, the “2025 Global Crypto Rankings” introduces a nuanced evaluation system composed of Four Key Pillars, aiming to capture “depth” rather than just “breadth.”

This approach aligns with giants like the US. In the crypto world, the future is not only determined by Wall Street capital but also by social system design and integration.

The Battle between the US and Singapore and Europe’s Breakthrough

新加坡：制度化採用的全球燈塔（Ranking #1）

Singapore ranks first with a score of 7.5. This is not a short-term breakthrough but the result of long-term strategic planning.

• Regulation as a Service: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is not just a regulator but a leader in industry guidance. Through clear Payment Services Act (PSA) and final regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, Singapore offers high predictability for enterprises. MAS’s “Project Guardian” actively pilots tokenized assets and traditional banking system integration, directly fostering a thriving RWA market locally.
• High Penetration and Cultural Acceptance: Over 11% of Singapore residents hold crypto assets. This reflects high digital financial literacy and a view of crypto as a standard diversification tool. In “Cultural Participation” and “User Penetration” metrics, Singapore scores near perfect.

美國：資本巨人的制度困境（Ranking #2）

Despite being second, the US (7.3 points) remains the most influential single market globally.

• Capital Magnet Effect: Approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs and the passage of the GENIUS Act make the US a magnet for institutional capital. The US leads in DeFi trading volume, CEX fund flows, and Lightning Network adoption.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: Unlike Singapore’s integrated regulation, the US exhibits multi-agency checks and balances (SEC vs. CFTC jurisdiction disputes). This uncertainty has not blocked capital inflow but has increased compliance costs.
  Chainalysis data confirms this: while the US ranks high in institutional service value, grassroots retail adoption faces certain restrictions, posing challenges for startups.

立陶宛：MiCA 時代的歐洲橋頭堡（Ranking #3）

Lithuania’s rise (score 6.3) is one of the most surprising findings. As a Baltic nation with only a few million people, Lithuania successfully leverages the EU’s MiCA regulation to position itself as a gateway into the European single market, attracting foreign financial firms.

• Strategic Analysis: Lithuania has built an open financial system and digitalized population structure. For global exchanges and service providers seeking EU compliance, Lithuania offers efficient, low-friction registration and licensing pathways.
• Leverage Effect: The report highlights that although domestic trading volume is limited, the licenses issued radiate across Europe. This demonstrates that jurisdictional competitiveness outweighs population size in the digital economy era.

瑞士：傳統銀行業的加密堡壘（Ranking #4）

Switzerland exemplifies another familiar European model—elite infrastructure.

• Independent of MiCA: With a strong tradition of private banking and early布局 in Zug’s Crypto Valley, Switzerland has established a high-standard regulatory system independent of EU’s MiCA.
• Trust Economy: Switzerland’s strength lies in “Trust.” During global crises of trust in centralized exchanges, Swiss bank-grade custody services become a safe haven for top-tier institutional funds. Its policies, custody infrastructure, and research have unmatched “cultural legitimacy.”

阿聯酋：連接亞歐非的代幣化樞紐（Ranking #5）

UAE’s success stems from precise geopolitical positioning. It is not only a regional hub for MENA but also a “tokenized financial bridge” connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa.

• VARA Framework Effect: Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) provides a highly flexible policy framework for enterprises.
• Unique Dual-Track System: The UAE’s crypto ecosystem features a distinctive dual-track approach—government-led asset tokenization pilots and remittance-driven usage by a large expatriate workforce. This results in high scores in both “Institutional Innovation” and “Grassroots Utility.”

The Polarization of Crypto Economics

WCR 2025 reveals a profound and diverse global development structure: high-income countries focus on “investment orientation,” while low-income countries emphasize “necessity orientation,” with a “hybrid development” model. Markets like UAE, Brazil, and Hong Kong combine policy support with active retail participation, balancing “investment” and “necessity.” These countries use crypto to meet local needs, support cross-border trade and capital flows, and maintain flexible, clear regulation.

Wealthy Countries’ Game: Asset Appreciation and Diversification

In high-income countries like the US, Singapore, and Switzerland, user penetration and regulatory clarity are positively correlated.

• Motivation: The main reason for holding crypto is portfolio diversification. Keywords include ETFs, DeFi yields, RWA.
• Behavior: Trading frequency may not be very high (due to mature credit card and electronic payment systems), but single transactions are large and often related to institutional products.

Emerging Markets as Lifelines: Focus on Functionality

In countries like Vietnam (ranked 9th), Philippines, and Nigeria, crypto adoption is bottom-up.

• Vietnam Case: Despite less government support than Singapore, Vietnam ranks in the top 20 globally (Chainalysis ranks as high as 4th), thanks to high grassroots activity and decentralized tools.

• Functional Demand: In these markets, crypto is used to combat inflation, evade capital controls, and serve as a banking alternative. The population’s banking penetration is significantly lower than in wealthy countries.

  This explains why many developing countries score higher in “Trading Usage” than developed nations. Chainalysis data shows APAC’s on-chain activity grew 69%, driven by strong grassroots demand.

Three Major Forces Reshaping Market Trends

Data shows that cryptocurrencies are undergoing a transition from hype to utility, mainly reflected in the following three areas:

RWA: The Trojan Horse of Institutional Entry

Tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is no longer just talk.

• Explosive Growth: Since January 2024, excluding stablecoins, the total on-chain value of RWA has increased by 63%, reaching $25.7 billion.
• Asset Classes: U.S. Treasuries and private credit lead the field. Private credit is about $15.6 billion, while tokenized US debt is about $6.7 billion.

This signals that capital markets are beginning to integrate tokenized assets into routine operations. For countries with high institutional readiness (like the US, Singapore, Lithuania), this will be the biggest growth area in the coming years.

Stablecoins: Currency Competition and Payment Revolution Stablecoin development has entered a new phase, with localization and functional differentiation.

• De-dollarization trend: While dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT, USDC) still dominate, countries are exploring stablecoins pegged to their own currencies to reduce dollar dependence and retain monetary sovereignty.
• Payment dominance: Stablecoins dominate global crypto payments. TRM Labs reports that stablecoin transaction volume from January to July 2025 exceeded $4 trillion, setting a record.

On-Chain Salary Payments: The Financialization of the Labor Market
This may be the most socially transformative data in the report: the proportion of global professionals receiving part of their salary in crypto jumped from 3% last year to 9.6% this year.

• Drivers: Mainly driven by stablecoins (over 90%), concentrated in economies with large remote workers and high remittance needs, such as UAE, Philippines, Kenya, Brazil.
• Pain Points: For freelancers in emerging markets, traditional cross-border salary payments via banks involve high fees and days of processing. On-chain salary payments offer a real-time, low-cost alternative, effectively mitigating some inflation risks—an example of “necessity-driven adoption.”

Future Outlook and Strategic Opportunities for Taiwan

2026 Outlook: Regulatory Arbitrage and Compliance Migration

The report predicts that by 2026, clear signs of regulatory arbitrage will emerge globally. Countries establishing transparent frameworks and infrastructure will capture tax revenue, attract top talent, and foster innovation; those maintaining restrictive or ambiguous policies risk losing market capital and talent (activity migrating to jurisdictions with more developed frameworks).

With MiCA fully implemented in Europe and the US’s GENIUS Act advancing, global crypto regulation standards will significantly improve. Future competition will focus on optimizing compliance costs and the efficiency of “business model implementation.”

Implications for Taiwan

As a key part of the global tech supply chain, how should Taiwan position itself in the trends of WCR 2025? The report offers some suggestions:

2. Emulate Singapore’s “Regulation as a Product”: Taiwan is still exploring virtual asset regulation. Singapore’s success proves that clear rules are not an obstacle to innovation but a magnet for compliant capital. Taiwan should accelerate the implementation of a dedicated virtual asset law, providing clear compliance guidance for industry players.
3. Learn from Lithuania’s “Niche Strategy”: Lithuania demonstrates that small countries can become regional financial hubs through flexible licensing systems. Taiwan need not pursue large-scale comprehensive regulation but can focus on RWA tokenization (e.g., real estate, green assets) or Web3 developer ecosystems, becoming a talent hub in Asia.
4. Embrace Stablecoin Payment Advantages: Given Taiwan’s role in global trade, exploring enterprise-level stablecoin payment settlements (B2B cross-border payments) can greatly improve cross-border capital turnover, aligning with the report’s trends in RWA and payments.

Conclusion

The “2025 Global Crypto Rankings Report” is not just a report card; it’s more like a glimpse of the “future landscape of financial markets.” The era of the “crypto grassroots” has ended; the institutional era has arrived at users’ doorstep.

In this new era, those who can most effectively integrate blockchain technology into existing legal and economic frameworks will hold the discourse of finance in the next decade. For Taiwan, it’s time to stop watching from the sidelines and actively participate in rebuilding the global financial infrastructure.