A conversation with Nick Jones, the co-founder and CEO of digital-assets infrastructure platform Zumo, on how being accepted to a blockchain accelerator and COVID-19 workplace changes influenced their choice to establish and remain in Scotland.
Why Lisbon Is Immunefi’s Crypto Hub
A frank conversation with Immunefi founder and CEO Mitchell Amador about where he optimized his startup’s locations from the perspective of regulations, taxes and human health.
Don’t Overlook Tokyo and Hong Kong as Crypto Hot Spots
The two Far East financial hubs take a comprehensive approach to overseeing crypto, and are likely to attract businesses from around the world. They don’t appear on CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 ranking of the 15 best places to live and work for crypto professionals, but they should not be ignored.
Crypto Hubs 2023: Where to Live Freely and Work Smart
With shifting regulatory regimes worldwide, crypto is on the move to find the best locales to put down roots, get licensed, register or just be. Crypto Hubs 2023, our ranking of the top 15 global crypto hubs, is a good place to start.
Zug: Where Ethereum Was Born and Crypto Goes to Grow Up
What is not to like about the tiny Swiss city where Vitalik Buterin and his cofounders launched Ethereum? The No. 1 spot on CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 ranking has it all: regulatory clarity, crypto-friendly banks and a lively crypto job market and events calendar.
Singapore: The Center of Asian Crypto Wealth Is Ready for a Reset
A fintech hub turned early crypto adopter, Singapore raised billions through ICOs. Cue parties on yachts and at luxury villas. But after the collapse of homegrown crypto darlings Terraform Labs and Three Arrows Capital, the No. 2 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 is searching for the right regulatory balance to encourage crypto without getting burned again.
London: The World’s Capital for Foreign Exchange Adds Cryptocurrencies to Its Ledger
Already a global hub for finance, the No. 3 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 has a healthy grassroots crypto adoption rate and a prime minister eager to attract the digital asset industry.
Seoul: Asia’s Retail Crypto Capital Moves on After Do Kwon
South Korea’s nearly 7 million registered users, many in the nation’s capital, show a huge interest in trading crypto. But CoinDesk’s 4th-ranked Crypto Hub for 2023 is still licking its wounds after the catastrophic collapse of Do Kwon’s Terra blockchain – for a time, South Korea’s favorite crypto project.
Dubai: Launching a Crypto Regulatory Arm to Become a Global Financial Power
The center of the crypto universe has been shifting toward the UAE since March 2022, when Dubai announced the world’s first independent crypto regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority. With its state intention to provide legal clarity for crypto, the No. 5 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 has attracted jurisdiction shoppers such as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and crypto exchange WazirX.
Abu Dhabi: A Wealthy Middle-East Capital Creating a Bridge From TradFi to Crypto
The heart of crypto in the capital of the United Arab Emirates is actually just offshore in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets, an economic free zone. With a mandate to encourage fintech, the No. 6 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 keeps the lines of communications open between regulators and crypto institutions.
Wyoming: Regulatory Clarity and Crypto-Friendly Banks Fuel Blockchain Revolution
America’s least populous state has passed three dozen laws regulating crypto. That has helped attract crypto, blockchain and Web3 employers and made the No. 7 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 the most crypto-friendly state in an otherwise uncertain U.S. regulatory environment.
Silicon Valley: The Mecca for Venture Capital May Be Cooling on Crypto
The storied birthplace of the U.S. tech industry is dripping with talent and money. But crypto founders who live in the No. 8 spot on CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 list say that Web3 is losing ground to artificial intelligence in the race to capture the Valley’s wallets and minds.
Austin: Where Remote-Work Crypto Developers Actually Choose to Live
A critical mass of the world’s top Bitcoin developers and mining companies call the No. 9 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 their home, lured by the city’s attractive weather, live music and food scene, as well as the lack of state income taxes.
Berlin: The Center for Decentralized Finance – and Techno Music
When the tech hub of Europe meets a society that prizes financial autonomy, the result is a crypto community that practices the very decentralization it preaches. Case in point: Blockchain Week Berlin, the flagship annual conference of the No. 10 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023, is a self-organized, crypto-agnostic community initiative.
Los Angeles: Where Hollywood Magic and Creativity Meet Web3
The City of Angels is a global influencer in art, fashion and, especially, entertainment. Less known are its significant contributions in technology innovation. Together, the No. 11 spot on CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 is a Web3 power. Plus it has the best movie stars.
New York City: A Crypto Sandbox in a Big Business Playground
The Big Apple is big everything. The world’s financial center, it also has a huge population not only of talented developers to hire, but consumers to sell to. In such a huge and bustling ecosystem, crypto may not rate as the city’s highest priority. But like it or not, the No. 12 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 is a place crypto companies must be.
How We Ranked CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023: Our Methodology
As veterans of past city lists we aimed to produce a meaningful ranking of the best places in the world to live and work in crypto, blockchain and Web3. Here’s how we did it.
Vancouver: A Boutique Hub for Crypto Early Adopters
This small and picturesque coastal city has plenty of crypto jobs, companies and events. But the No. 13 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 is handcuffed by regulatory uncertainty in Canada, generally, that recently has led to national exits of major crypto exchanges Binance, Bybit and OKX.
Ljubljana: It’s a Beautiful Life in This Crypto Payments Hotbed
This unsung Central European success story features famous philosophers, a striking landscape and a high quality of life. And the No. 14 spot in CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 has a crypto ecosystem that punches vastly above its weight.
Lisbon: A Buzzy, Affordable Mecca for Buy-and-Hold Crypto Nomads
Portugal’s coastal capital offers a top-shelf European quality of life at discount prices. The No. 15 spot on CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023 attracts creative and entrepreneurial expats with a lively calendar of Web3 events, prized “digital nomad” visa and crypto-friendly tax laws.
