Crypto still 'off the table' for Singapore's Temasek, four years after FTX flop
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- Temasek president Nagi Hamiyeh said crypto investment is "still off the table," citing regulatory uncertainty, four years after the firm wrote down $275 million on FTX in 2022.
- Lawrence Wong, then Singapore's deputy prime minister and finance minister, called the FTX loss "disappointing" and damaging for Singapore's reputation, amplifying local scrutiny of Temasek's crypto bet.
- Temasek redirects blockchain interest toward infrastructure and real-economy applications rather than direct crypto holdings, according to Hamiyeh's interview with CNBC's Sri Jegarajah.
- Hamiyeh said he would bet on AI applications and commercial ecosystems over frontier models, noting "not every situation needs frontier models" and pointing to automation, robotics, and industrial process optimization as his longest-term wagers.
- Temasek aims to lift AI exposure from 6% of its portfolio in the fiscal year ended March to 15% by 2031, investing across the full value chain including energy infrastructure and data centers.
- Europe has drawn about 12 billion euros ($14 billion) of Temasek capital over the past two years, second only to the U.S., with Hamiyeh citing a "right to win" in luxury, consumer brands, energy transition, and family-owned industrials.
- Temasek takes a "practical approach" on defense contractors, focusing on dual-use technologies with biological and chemical weapons categorically off-limits, leaving ST Engineering as its sole exposure in the sector.
Why it matters: Four years after the FTX writedown damaged Singapore's reputation and drew direct criticism from then-Deputy PM Lawrence Wong, Temasek's firm no-crypto stance shows sovereign money managers remain wary of unregulated assets. The planned shift from 6% to a targeted 15% AI allocation by 2031 reorients Singapore's patient capital toward infrastructure and applications where long-term contracts with highly rated counterparties keep risk "very, very minimal."
