What makes a first rank crypto economy? A number of factors, for sure. These can range from the number of Bitcoin nodes and crypto ATMs in a country to regional regulations and the availability of wallets.
The crypto exchange aggregator Coincub carried out its crypto country ranking for the final quarter of 2021. But despite the daunting amount of data to wade through, there appears to be a clear winner.
Let’s ‘pore’ over the data
To cut to the chase, the winner is none other than Singapore. The south-east Asian country topped a number of metrics such as institutional acceptance, the availability of exchanges and wallets, regulation, financial services, transparency, spending crypto, and banks’ activity in crypto.
Recording that 9.4% of the country’s 5.6 million people hold crypto, the exchange aggregator noted,
“In keeping with maintaining its competitive position, Singapore offers firm but clear legislative guidance with a low tax on crypto earnings combined with a progressive attitude within the financial sector and lots of retail uptake.”
However, one area where Singapore was lagging behind is DeFi acceptance. The report stated,
“Decentralized Finance is behind the rapid interest and growth of cryptocurrency and is underpinned by blockchain technology. The central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, is looking at new financial sector regulations including stronger standards for cryptocurrency service providers and higher requirements for technology risk management in financial institutions.”
Other winners in the top five list included Australia, USA, Germany and Canada. It’s worth noting, however, that the previous winner was knocked from its pedestal for “regulatory crackdowns” on crypto.
This was the United States of America.
What’s more, if you’re curious, the country at the bottom of the ranking was China, due to its ban on crypto transactions. Other poor performers included Russia, New Zealand, and Nigeria.
At press time, Singapore had Bitcoin ATMs/tellers in about nine locations. However, Coincub noted that mining was far from profitable in the “Lion City” due to high tax rates.
Huobi to the Hawker Center
Just weeks earlier, the crypto exchange giant Huobi Group decided to establish its regional headquarters in Singapore. However, that same month, Huobi had added Singapore to its list of “restricted jurisdictions.”
So, the question stands – While Singapore might look like the crypto hub of the future, how accessible is it to its own residents?