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The geography of cryptocurrency

Regulatory methods, working conditions for crypto startups and the status of digital assets vary from country to country. Representatives of the cryptocurrency community, in turn, are trying to choose the best options for business development. As a result, there are leading countries in terms of concentration of digital assets market participants.

Where cryptoprojects are being built

Despite stricter regulation, as of March 2023, 35% of cryptoproject headquarters are in the United States. Other popular destinations for cryptos that come by a wide margin from America include:

  • Singapore
  • U.K.
  • China
  • Canada
  • Switzerland
  • India
  • Hong Kong
Geography of cryptoproject headquarters. Source: The Block
29% of the headquarters of cryptoprojects are in other countries. The geography of nearly 5% of cryptocurrencies remains a mystery.

The U.S. also leads the geography of the crypto industry, in terms of the volume of crypto-fiat transactions.
Geography of crypto-fiat transactions. Source:: fiatleak.com
Despite the fact that China is one of the top 5 most popular countries for creating crypto projects, the volume of cryptotransactions in the country, according to Chainalysis, is declining.
Comparison of changes in cryptotransaction volume by country in Asia, from July 2020-July 2021, to July 2021-July 2022. Source: Chainalysis
Where crypto is mined

To understand where the largest center of mining is located, we need to figure out which countries have the largest concentration of hashtags of the most capitalized cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC). To do this, let's take a look at the mining map created by Cambridge University analysts. It shows that the largest amount of BTC hashrate is concentrated in the United States.
Bitcoin hashrate distribution map. Source: ccaf
According to Cambridge University analysts, the U.S. accounted for 37.4% of the bitcoin mining market as of early 2022.
Bitcoin hash rate distribution by country. Source: ccaf
Statistics on the distribution of bitcoin hash rate by U.S. states are fresher — the last update was in December 2022. According to analysts, Georgia has the most BTC miners — 30% — working in Georgia. Texas is in second place (11.2%), followed by Kentucky (10.9%).
Bitcoin hash rate distribution by US states. Source: ccaf

The popularity of the U.S. as a mining center, among other things, contributes to the affordable electricity rates.
The USA in the ranking of countries, in terms of cost per kilowatt hour in dollars. Source: Statista
Before the active pressure on miners in May 2021, the capital of mining cryptocurrencies was China. The pressure of the PRC authorities on participants in the crypto industry forced many to leave the country. A large number of miners settled in the U.S., making America the new center of cryptocurrency mining.
Territory redistribution with the course towards Asia

In 2022-2023, the crypto business faced pressure from U.S. regulators. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not ruled out recognizing all cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin as illegally issued securities. At the same time, local regulators have been slow to create transparent legal rules for the digital asset market.

Against the backdrop of U.S. regulatory pressure, many American-based cryptoprojects have decided to change geography. Many market participants choose Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai among the countries with lenient regulation of the crypto industry.

Europe and Asian countries have become popular destinations for crypto-business migration. Many members of the crypto community believe that it is from Asia that a new bull cycle will come.
CBDC development map. Source: cbdctracker.org
2023-03-31 12:45 Beginner