Crypto markets are beginning the East Asia trading day well into the green, as positive economic data from the U.S. buoyed markets. Bitcoin was up 1% and trading at $30,585, while ether is up 0.9% and trading at $1,874, according to market data. Layer 2 tokens, such as Arbitrum and Polygon were also in the green with ARB recently up 5.4% and MATIC 3%. The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) was also up 1.4%. “There was a lot of US economic data released today, and the key takeaway was that the economy is not breaking just yet,” Edward Moya, OANDA Senior Market Analyst, told journalists in a note. “Bitcoin momentum remains intact as Fidelity joins the quest for the elusive bitcoin ETF…optimism is here that one of these financial giants will get one done before summer’s end.”
The city-state of Singapore scored highest overall for the three measures it could control: regulatory structure, digital infrastructure and ease of doing business. This was enough to be firmly ensconced in second place in the CoinDesk Hubs survey. Singapore still has a strong reputation, receiving the most mentions for best crypto hub in a select CoinDesk survey sent to about three dozen globetrotting crypto professionals this spring. The Red Dot has all the ingredients of a strong crypto hub, with the highest rating in the world for digital infrastructure and second-highest ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index.
Prakash Somosundram, founder of Enjinstarter, a blockchain-based crowdfunding platform for early crypto projects, described having had a “front row seat” to the Singaporean crypto scene since 2015. “In the early days, when it came to crypto, from a regulatory perspective, it was very pro. So this is where a lot of crypto influencers moved their capital,” Somosundram said. And with no capital gains tax, “It is an ideal place for the crypto affluent to actually come here.”