According to Coincub, Germany and America are the most crypto-friendly countries in the world. Every quarter Coincub compiles a ranking, comparing countries in nine different categories. It looks at government, financial services, public adoption, taxation, and education, among other things.
Germany takes big step with new tax law
This quarter, Germany has made a leap forward because of a new tax law. Germany recently introduced a zero-tax policy on capital gains from crypto assets if the investor in question has held them for longer than one year. With this, Germany recognises the function of crypto as a means of saving, as it were. An interesting step by the government since bitcoin does compete with the euro as a means of saving.
Especially now that inflation in the Eurozone is extremely high, the euro could have a hard time competing with bitcoin’s absolute scarcity. In any case, the new law shows that Germany is not afraid of innovation. And apparently, it also recognises the benefits of bitcoin for the population. A few years ago, we would not have dared to dream that governments would treat bitcoin this way.
After all, bitcoin was conceived as a reaction to the traditional financial system. A system in which money creation is central. In that sense, bitcoin does pose a threat to the government’s monopoly on money. But that is something they are apparently not worried about in Germany at the moment — a nice development as far as we are concerned.
The Executive Order of Joe Biden
America is doing well in Coincub’s new rankings because of President Joe Biden’s executive order. With the executive order, Biden wants to map out as soon as possible the ways in which bitcoin and the crypto industry can improve the position of the United States on the world financial stage. Thanks to Joe Biden’s executive order, we can probably expect new legislation from the United States on a relatively short term.
Legislation that is badly needed to improve the Wild West reputation of the crypto industry. Better oversight and clear rules may be the final push that bitcoin and the rest of the industry needs to gain public trust.
Fidelity’s decision to make bitcoin exposure a part of US pension funds has also done the United States good, according to Coincub. Coincub also drew parallels with Germany’s Sparkasse, which allows 50 million Germans to buy bitcoin directly from their bank accounts.
Switzerland in third place
Neutral Switzerland is third on Coincub’s list. This is primarily due to the interesting developments in Lugano. Bitcoin has been recognised there as legal tender. This makes it possible for residents of this area to make everyday payments, including taxes and other municipal matters, using bitcoin.
In addition, as Switzerland is home to more than 1,000 blockchain and crypto companies and is home to many Bitcoin nodes and ATMs, according to Coincub, Switzerland can rightfully call itself a crypto-friendly state. In fourth place, we find Singapore, which was still in first place last year. The reason for this decline is the stricter regulations from the financial regulator and the central bank of Singapore.
