Bitcoin bulls descend on Singapore in search of the next big bet

Crypto’s movers and shakers are gathering in Singapore for one of their biggest conferences of the year as a Bitcoin-led rally revives hopes that a new bull market is taking shape.

About 25,000 people are expected to converge on the city-state’s iconic Marina Bay Sands this week for Token2049.

More than 500 exhibitors and 300 speakers are slated for the Oct 7-8 event, including Hyperliquid chief executive officer Jeff Yan, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and World Liberty Financial co-founder Eric Trump.

Bitcoin’s rally from US$58,000 at the end of June to roughly US$85,000 on Oct 6 has spurred talk that the crypto winter is thawing, though the market has yet to regain the momentum and confidence of earlier bull cycles.

Token2049 may offer insights into what crypto’s founders, builders, investors and financial institutions are betting on next. 

“I’ve been one of the few attending Token2049 since the first one in 2018; looking back highlights just how far this asset class has matured,” said Dovey Wan, founding partner of crypto investment firm Primitive Ventures. “Through every boom and bust, staying in the game with those who built from day one is what truly matters.”

‘Not euphoria’

The industry has weathered a prolonged slump since October 2025, when Bitcoin plunged from its record high above US$126,000. But a 43% advance in the three months through September gave the largest cryptocurrency its strongest quarter since the final three months of 2024, when crypto-friendly US President Donald Trump won re-election.

One of the first keynote addresses of the conference is titled Crypto Spring Turning Into Full-Blown Bull Market by BitMine chairman Tom Lee.

Still, Bitcoin has struggled to break above US$87,000 as rising Treasury yields weigh on speculative assets.

The mood is better than it was in June, but it is “definitely not euphoria”, said Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at crypto-focused venture capital firm Dragonfly. 

The market has absorbed setbacks such as the US Senate’s failure to advance the Clarity Act, while growing institutional participation and the expansion of stablecoin use have helped support confidence, he said.

Converging worlds

One major theme at the conference will be how parts of traditional finance are moving onto blockchain networks, essentially putting assets and financial transactions on technology originally developed for cryptocurrencies. Tokenised assets, stablecoins and around-the-clock trading are increasingly bringing the two worlds closer together.

The value of tokenised real-world assets such as bonds, commodities and equities has surged, reaching more than US$38 billion at the end of September, according to RWA.xyz, whose tally excludes stablecoins.

The speaker line-up reflects that growing convergence, with crypto-native executives appearing alongside traditional financial industry leaders including Nasdaq chair and CEO Adena Friedman and Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson. 

Eric Trump, the US president’s second son and executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, will speak on The Future Of Finance, Built In America.

Other big-name speakers include Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng and crypto billionaire Justin Sun, an early investor in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial who is now embroiled in a dispute with it.

Reigning Formula 1 champion Lando Norris, in town for this week’s Singapore Grand Prix, is also speaking at a session titled The Drive To Win.

Notably absent from this year’s line-up are Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who were both key speakers in 2025.

Agentic payments

Artificial intelligence will be another major thread, particularly as the crypto industry experiments with using digital currencies and blockchain networks to enable payments between AI systems.

Qureshi, who spends much of his time looking at the intersection of crypto and AI, said he is particularly interested in “agentic payments”, where AI agents make payments on behalf of users or transact with one another.

“It’s early, but it’s where I see the smartest founders trying out new ideas,” Qureshi said.

Hacks and cybersecurity are also likely to be topics of conversation following a spate of recent attacks, including the US$388 million heist at crypto exchange Bitget just two weeks ago.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said that, for her, the value of Token2049 lies less in what happens on stage than in the conversations off it. “It is a useful opportunity to compare what we are seeing at Bitget with what the broader market is prioritising,” she said.

Chen would like to see more regulators and policymakers speaking at the event, particularly as the industry grapples with how stablecoins, tokenised assets and crypto platforms should fit into the wider financial system.

Some of the most consequential questions “cannot be answered by the industry alone”, she said.

Singapore is cementing its status as a major digital-asset hub, with Chainalysis data showing US$284 billion (S$363 billion) of crypto activity in the city-state between July 2025 and June 2026, up 55.4% from the previous year.

This week it will host hundreds of side events around Token2049.

“Token2049 is one of the key points on the industry calendar,” said conference co-founder Alex Fiskum. “It’s an opportunity to take stock of where the industry stands, build new partnerships and set the agenda for the year ahead.” BLOOMBERG