London tops crypto hub rankings with 2nd highest number of crypto companies in the world

London, Dubai and New York have been ranked as the top 3 crypto hubs, with over 800 crypto-based companies active in the UK’s most populous city.

Recap’s annual list of top crypto hub cities for 2023 looks at key metrics like tax status, quality of life index, and the overall number of crypto companies and specialists in a given metropolitan area in coming up with its rankings. It found London to have an estimated 2,173 people working in crypto-based jobs, the highest number of people working in the industry compared to anywhere else.

Dubai came in at number two on the list. Home to industry behemoth Binance (and CZ himself), the Emirate has adopted a regulatory open-door policy when it comes to regulating crypto. The Emirate has been keen to explore how blockchain innovations, exchanges, and OTCs can allow for a flourishing DeFi industry to take hold in the Gulf country, home to a number of crypto Entrepreneurs such as Singularity’s Marcello Mari.

New York, which boasts significant investment in R&D and employs over 1,400 people in crypto-related positions, took third place with the highest number of companies specializing in the field at 843.

Neither Miami–which is home to several of the world’s largest crypto conferences and events–nor Pyongyang,  which the FBI allege is home to one of the most successful crypto hacking teams ever assembled–make an appearance on the list.

Fourth on the list is Singapore, another hub for crypto taxation. The city has 25% crypto ownership, more than 800 crypto companies, and over 1,000 industry workers. Notably, Singapore does not impose a capital gains tax on crypto investors.

Rounding out the top five is Los Angeles, which the report lauds for developing a thriving crypto community, and Zug at number six, the Swiss canton known as “crypto valley,” home to private equity investment firms like Dialectic, to the Bitcoin and Ethereum Foundations, as well as numerous other startups, NFT galleries, and favorable tax legislation. Zug, with its 0% capital gains tax, offers residents the distinctive option of paying their taxes in cryptocurrency, too. Additionally, it boasts the highest quality of life score among the analyzed cities, with a score of 212.78.

The top 10 is rounded out by Hong Kong, Paris, Vancouver, and Bangkok, due to their low capital gains tax, high concentration of crypto ATMs, and a significant number of professionals in the crypto industry. Followed by Chicago, Berlin, Sapporo, Lagos, Lisbon, Kuwait, Tehran, Sydney, Osaka, and Kuala Lumpur, rounding out the top 20.