Kazakhstan, the Maldives and Pakistan have recently outlined ambitions to position themselves as crypto hubs and build out their digital economies.
Historically, these countries haven’t been top of mind for global crypto firms — though Kazakhstan did have a brief moment in the spotlight as a go-to destination for Bitcoin (BTC) miners after China’s mining ban.
Meanwhile, established financial centers are now in a race to become the world’s leading crypto hub by finding the right balance of regulation, talent, capital and infrastructure.
Here’s how five of them are backing their crypto dreams.
Singapore is the crypto hub with parental guidance
Singapore has long stood out as a financial hub, bolstered by its AAA credit rating, low corporate tax rates and pro-business regulations. With the emergence of digital assets, the Lion City is among the front-runners in the crypto hub race.
Singapore was among the early movers in crypto regulation. Its Payment Services Act (PSA) of 2019 — enacted in 2020 — was one of Asia’s first comprehensive legal frameworks that covered crypto activities.
The PSA uses the term “digital payment token” (DPT) to define digital representation of value that can be transferred, stored or traded electronically — like crypto.
At the time of writing, there are 33 DPT service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank. Casper Johansen, co-founder of Singapore- and Hong Kong-based Spartan Group, said license approvals have moved at a measured pace, giving faster-moving hubs like Dubai room to catch up.
“Singapore is more of an institutional financial hub than a retail financial hub,” Johansen said, alluding to the city-state’s limitations on crypto marketing to retail investors.
“The ban on marketing to retail has not affected Singapore’s position as a global crypto hub. Crypto firms set up in Singapore for the low and transparent taxes, strong regulatory framework and rule of law, world-class professional services, ease of living and global connectivity,” Johansen added.
But cracks have emerged recently, particularly around immigration and hiring policy. In late 2024, concerns flared when the CEO of blockchain analytics firm Nansen, Alex Svanevik, shared that he was denied permanent residency. The government has ramped up efforts to prioritize local hiring amid growing political sensitivity over foreign labor.
UAE rolls out the welcome mat for crypto hub status
Unlike other crypto hub contenders, Dubai has a dedicated digital asset regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Its wide-ranging licensing regime provides clear guidelines — even for NFT platforms — which major economies like the European Union have yet to address. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework currently excludes NFTs.
VARA’s clarity is appealing to companies frustrated by regulatory uncertainty elsewhere. Binance, a borderless exchange with no official head office, has had to rethink that model under global regulatory pressure — and the exchange’s ties to the UAE have been growing.
Richard Teng, former CEO of free zone Abu Dhabi Global Market, took over as the CEO of Binance after Zhao, and has recently hinted that UAE is a strong candidate for the exchange’s headquarters, though a decision hasn’t been made yet.
The UAE also provides its own incentives, such as no personal income tax and free zones like the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) offer 0% corporate tax advantages and 100% foreign ownership.
Related: The lessons learned at Operation Chokepoint 2.0 Congressional hearings
Crypto firms have reported easier access to banking services in Dubai, which is an improvement over the challenges companies say they’ve faced in the US under “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Hong Kong makes crypto hub push with retail access and staking ETFs
Hong Kong has long acted as a financial gateway to mainland China, where crypto activities like mining and trading remain banned.
Previously, the city had a voluntary licensing regime, when only OSL and HashKey were licensed to serve institutions and professional investors. In Hong Kong, professional investors are legally defined as those with portfolios worth at least 8 million Hong Kong dollars (about $1 million).
It was later updated to the mandatory regime, launched in 2023, which opened the doors to retail.
The shift to mandatory licensing marked a turning point. OSL and HashKey became the first exchanges authorized to serve retail…
cointelegraph.com