On this page11
- Why "the biggest market" is the wrong first filter
- The five-factor APAC entry scorecard
- How the main APAC markets tend to score
- A worked example: two products, same shortlist
- What you do in the first 90 days after you pick
- When the scorecard doesn't apply
- FAQ
- How long should a crypto startup stay in its first Asian market before adding a second?
- Can I enter several Asian markets at once with one regional campaign?
- Should a pre-revenue startup enter an Asian market at all?
- Do I need a legal opinion before scoring the "rules" factor?
A crypto startup should enter the Asian market where its specific user already gathers, where it can legally say what it wants to say, and where its team can actually work in the language. That's rarely the biggest market on paper. I score candidates on five factors (rules, media access, community, partners and team fit), weight them by product type, and commit to the winner for at least two quarters before adding a second country.
Most founders ask this question the wrong way round. They start with "Korea or India" and then look for reasons. I'd rather start with who you're selling to, and let the countries compete for that person.
Why "the biggest market" is the wrong first filter
Population and trading volume are the numbers founders reach for first, because they're easy to find and they look good in a board deck. They tell you almost nothing about whether your product will get traction there.
A large market with the wrong user is worse than a smaller market with the right one. A developer tooling company and a retail trading app can look at the same country and see completely different opportunities. One needs hackathons, GitHub activity and ecosystem grants. The other needs exchange listings, local-language traders and the creators those traders already follow.
Rules shift too, and they can shift faster than your launch plan. I watched this in India in 2022.
Translated: All the ways of buying #crypto through UPI are closed. Shilika Jain on X, 14 Apr 2022
A consumer onboarding plan built around easy rupee payments would have been planning for a country that no longer existed two weeks later. Size didn't protect anyone from that. Knowing which factors can move, and how quickly, is what protects you.
The five-factor APAC entry scorecard
This is the frame I use with founders before any money is spent. Score each candidate country from 1 to 5 on each factor, then multiply by the weight for your product type.
| Factor | What a 5 looks like | What a 1 looks like | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rules | You can describe your product publicly in that country without legal caveats on every line | Promotion of your product type is restricted, unclear or recently changed | Local counsel, plus the posture in local media coverage |
| Media access | Local outlets cover your category and you can pitch them in their language | Coverage of your category is thin, or only reachable through paid placements | Read a month of the outlets your users read |
| Community size | Your specific user type is active in local channels you can join | Interest exists only in English-language global channels | Telegram, X, local apps, event attendance |
| Partner availability | Local exchanges, ecosystems, VCs or brands would plausibly work with you | No natural partner, or partners only want paid deals | Who sponsors and speaks at local events |
| Team fit | Someone on your team or a partner speaks the language and can be online in that time zone | Nobody can read local coverage without a translation tool | Your own org chart |
The weights matter more than the scores. A rough guide:
- Retail token launch: community and media access count double. Retail users decide whether you trend.
- B2B infrastructure or developer tooling: partner availability and team fit count double. You need integrations, not crowds.
- Consumer app outside trading: community and rules count double. Onboarding has to work for ordinary people, and payment rails are where it breaks.
- Institutional or RWA product: rules count triple. Nothing else matters if you can't say what the product is.
If two countries finish within a couple of points of each other, pick the one where team fit is higher. A slightly worse market that you can actually operate in beats a slightly better one you're reading through a translation tool.
How the main APAC markets tend to score
These are tendencies I've seen, not fixed truths. Re-score with current information every time, because regulatory positions and media focus move quarter to quarter.
Korea usually scores high on community and media access for retail products, and low on team fit for teams with no Korean speaker. After Korea Blockchain Week in 2025, my note was blunt.
Korea is the market for retail traction, specifically for the ones that have TGE on the radar✨ Shilika Jain on X, 30 Sep 2025
The catch is that Korean reach runs through Korean-language outlets and channels. In the localised coverage I've secured there, the reach came from Naver-syndicated mainstream outlets like Hankyung and E-Daily, crypto outlets like Bloomingbit and Tokenpost, and Telegram-driven apps like CoinNess. None of that responds to an English release. My Korea page has more.
Singapore scores high on partner availability and on rules clarity for institutional products, and it's an easy base for an English-speaking team. Years ago I wrote that it was full of builders.
Singapore is currently in the ocean of Web3 folks! Shilika Jain on X, 26 Sep 2022
That density cuts both ways. It's a great place to meet partners and investors, and a hard place to stand out to retail users, because everyone else is there doing the same thing.
India scores high on community size for developers and on media access through mainstream business and startup press, and lower on rules for consumer trading products. When Bullieverse raised $4M, the coverage that mattered for an Indian-founded team came from the Economic Times, Inc42, Entrackr and YourStory, alongside the crypto trade press. That's a path most foreign teams don't plan for.
Japan tends to score lower on speed and higher on credibility. Teams that enter Japan first often find the disclosure discipline it demands cleans up their messaging for every other market.
Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia often score high on community for retail and gaming products. Check the current licensing position carefully before you plan a consumer push. My APAC Web3 PR playbook goes deeper on each country, and APAC regulatory messaging covers how compliance language changes by market.
A worked example: two products, same shortlist
To show how the weights change the answer, take two illustrative startups with the same shortlist of Korea, Singapore and India. The scores below are made up for the example. Your own will differ.
| Factor | Korea | Singapore | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rules | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Media access | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Community size (retail traders) | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Partner availability | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Team fit (no Korean speaker, one Hindi speaker) | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Startup A is a retail-facing DeFi app planning a TGE in five months. Community and media access count double. Korea comes out at 3 + 8 + 10 + 3 + 1 = 25. Singapore gets 4 + 6 + 4 + 5 + 4 = 23. India lands on 2 + 8 + 6 + 3 + 4 = 23. Korea wins, but only just, and its weakest score is team fit. The real decision is whether to hire a Korean-speaking lead or a local partner now. If they won't, Korea is a trap.
Startup B is a data infrastructure protocol selling to other builders. Partners and team fit count double. Korea scores 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 2 = 20. Singapore scores 4 + 3 + 2 + 10 + 8 = 27. India scores 2 + 4 + 3 + 6 + 8 = 23. Singapore wins clearly, with India as the natural second market for developer adoption.
Same countries, opposite answers. That's why I don't give a single "enter Korea first" or "start with Singapore" rule.
What you do in the first 90 days after you pick
Choosing is the easy part. The first quarter decides whether the choice was right.
- Write down why the country won, in one paragraph, with the scores. You'll need it when someone suggests adding a second market in month two.
- Hire or contract one local operator before you spend on campaigns. Someone who reads local coverage daily is worth more than any translated asset.
- Rewrite your positioning for that market's user, not your global user. My field note on regional marketing covers the research side.
- Build relationships with three to five local reporters before you have news, so your first announcement isn't a cold pitch.
- Pick one local event to anchor your first story, and plan backwards from it.
- Set two or three measures you'll check at day 90: qualified local users, local-language coverage, partner conversations.
- At day 90, re-score the country. If a factor dropped, find out why before you commit another quarter.
When the scorecard doesn't apply
Some decisions are made for you. If your founders are based in one country, your first market is usually that country, because team fit and partner access are so lopsided that no other score catches up. Use the scorecard to decide the second market instead.
It also breaks when a regulatory event hits mid-plan. A scorecard is a snapshot. If rules change, your "rules" score is suddenly wrong and the whole ranking may flip. Don't defend a plan built on old information.
And it won't fix a product problem. If nobody wants the product in your home market, a new country rarely changes that. Entering Asia is a distribution decision, not a rescue.
There's a cost to committing to one country too. You'll see competitors announce "APAC expansion" with logos from five markets while you're still in one. That's fine. One market where you have real users is a better story than five where you have a translated landing page.
If you want an operator to run the scoring with you and then execute the first market, that's what my APAC PR service is built for.
FAQ
How long should a crypto startup stay in its first Asian market before adding a second?
I recommend at least two quarters. The first quarter is mostly relationship building and positioning, and the results you see in it are not representative. Add the second market once the first has a local operator, repeatable coverage and users you can point to.
Can I enter several Asian markets at once with one regional campaign?
You can, but you'll be distributing, not entering. A single regional release translated into four languages reaches inboxes without changing the angle for any of them. If budget forces a multi-country start, run separate small campaigns with a local lead for each, on their own timelines.
Should a pre-revenue startup enter an Asian market at all?
Sometimes, if your earliest users are there. Many developer-focused teams find their first real community through Asian hackathons and ecosystem events. What I'd avoid is spending a seed round on a market-entry campaign before you know who the user is.
Do I need a legal opinion before scoring the "rules" factor?
For anything involving tokens, trading, custody or real-world assets, yes, get local counsel before you commit. The scorecard is a communications and go-to-market tool, not legal advice. Use what counsel tells you to set the score honestly.
Weighing Korea against Singapore or India for your first launch? Book a 30-minute call and we'll score your shortlist together.
