As the regulatory landscape shifts eastward from North America, crypto companies are taking advantage of the lack of a global regulatory framework for crypto and practicing regulatory arbitrage. This has led to a fluid time for crypto companies, with exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, and OKEx exiting Canada altogether, Gemini boosting headcount and operations in Singapore, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) naming its first non-U.S. outpost in London.
Dubai established the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) last year, with Abu Dhabi seeking to pass its own crypto-friendly regulatory framework this year. The European Union passed the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation in April, and Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission began accepting license applications for crypto exchanges this month.
The absence of such a coordinated worldwide effort would lead to national regulators “locked into differing regulatory frameworks,” said the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Monetary and Capital Markets department. This has compelled crypto professionals to “migrate to the friendliest jurisdictions.”
Startup founders and digital nomads alike are surveying the landscape and developing a rubric for deciding where to put down roots. Regulation is important, but other factors such as a favorable investment environment, the ease of doing business, and low taxes should also be taken into consideration.
CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 is a ranked list of the best places to live and work for crypto professionals. The list was created by putting ourselves in a crypto startup founder’s shoes and collecting then weighting data for eight different criteria that range from regulatory friendliness, digital infrastructure, to quality of life.