Southeast Asia Emerges as Global Digital Asset Proving Ground: Hashed and SCBX Joint Report

Southeast Asia is building an independent digital asset ecosystem based on the region's practical needs—such as cross-border remittances, financial accessibility, and monetary sovereignty—and is emerging as a global proving ground for the market, according to a new analysis.

Hashed Open Research (HOR), the policy think tank of Hashed, published a joint report with Thai financial holding company SCBX on the 27th titled "Necessity-Driven Frameworks: Southeast Asia's Digital Asset Choices and Realities." The report is based on keynote speeches and closed-door roundtable discussions held at Southeast Asia Blockchain Week (SEABW) 2026 in Bangkok last May.

The report assesses that Southeast Asian nations, rather than simply replicating financial models from the U.S. and Europe, are rapidly building an independent digital finance ecosystem by applying tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, and AI-based financial services to real-world markets.

Southeast Asia's Two-Pronged Digital Asset Strategy

Hashed Open Research categorized the digital asset strategies of six major Southeast Asian countries into "offensive" and "defensive" approaches.

Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia are accelerating the creation of local currency-based stablecoin and tokenized deposit markets centered on financial institutions. Singapore is expanding its Singapore dollar-based stablecoin ecosystem, while Thailand is testing baht-based stablecoins and programmable payments through the central bank's regulatory sandbox.

In contrast, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are focused on integrating individually-driven digital asset markets into the regulatory framework and curbing the spread of dollarization. According to the report, approximately $200 billion in on-chain transactions occur annually in Vietnam, with dollar-based stablecoins being used as a store of value. In the Philippines, stablecoins are emerging as an alternative payment method for the roughly $35 billion in annual remittances from overseas workers.

The overall growth of Southeast Asia's digital asset market is also notable. From June 2024 to June of last year, on-chain transaction volume in the Asia-Pacific region increased by approximately 68%, from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion. Global payment companies like Visa and Mastercard, along with major Southeast Asian financial firms, are also eyeing the region as a testbed for next-generation digital financial services.

Unique Tokenization Use Cases Reflecting Local Demand

Unique tokenization use cases combined with local financial needs are also rapidly increasing in Southeast Asia. Malaysia, together with its sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, is tokenizing Sukuk—bonds based on Islamic law—to target the global Islamic finance market. A business model was also introduced where a gold fund is tokenized, and collateralized loans are extended to gold retailers to generate interest income while enhancing the liquidity of fund shares.

Participation by South Korean financial firms is also expanding. Kyobo Securities promoted a cross-border project to tokenize wine real-world assets in collaboration with TokenX, a subsidiary of SCBX, and Singapore's SBI Digital Markets. This is cited as a representative example of linking the financial and digital asset infrastructure of South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore.

However, the report points to the lack of commercial bank participation, rather than regulation, as the key bottleneck hindering the commercialization of the tokenization market. Even with regulatory approval, it is difficult to launch products in the actual market without the participation of banks that provide existing financial infrastructure such as account opening, settlement, and custody. Accordingly, the report suggests that tokenization operators must consider the business interests and potential participation of commercial banks from the product design stage.

The Intersection of the AI Agent Economy and Blockchain

The report also focused on the new market that the combination of AI and blockchain will create. It analyzes that if agent-to-agent (A2A) transactions—where AI agents purchase services and make payments to each other without human intervention—expand, new infrastructure capable of processing sub-one-cent, ultra-high-frequency payments will be essential. Given the high fee burden of existing credit card networks, blockchain payment networks that eliminate gas fees or offer predictable costs were discussed as a strong alternative.

Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed, predicted that "A2A commerce, conducted by machines and software without human intervention, could grow into an independent economic sphere comparable to future business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions."

Hojin Kim, CEO of ShardLab, emphasized that "Southeast Asia is not simply a market with high traffic or user numbers, but a hub that creates value," adding, "The Southeast Asian market is rapidly transitioning from a customer-centric one to one led by developers and entrepreneurs."