Global Heavens: Best Places To Live For Crypto Traders – Why Dubai Wins The Financial Race

Crypto popularity is on the rise, and this is happening at a really fast pace. In 2022, people have eventually understood the massive importance of financial freedom, and this is the main reason for which digital assets are gaining so much popularity.

After people saw that the governments have the ability to freeze people’s bank accounts at their convenience, this led to more adoption of crypto. People who use fiat currencies and keep their money in banks are not actually the keepers of their own wealth, and this is beyond disturbing. This does not happen with crypto, and it’s probably the main reason for which mass adoption of digital assets has been racing in times of crisis.

In 2020 when the pandemic started and all hell broke loose all over the world, crypto saw a massive adoption boost, and this continued during the two years of nightmare triggered by the pandemic and the drastic measures that have been taken due to this across the globe cryptos turned out to be a solid and resilient safe haven and a hedge against inflation.

Bitcoin’s popularity is also surrounded by massive controversies, but this does not change the following: more and more merchants and venues are willing to accept crypto for payments. As Investopedia notes, there are a few countries in the world where crypto adoption is rising straight to the moon. Check out which they are below.

 

Best ten cities where Bitcoin and crypto adoption thrives

 

The mainstream adoption of digital assets has been one of the most important goals that the crypto industry had. There are so many uplifting things that have already happened in the crypto space that have boosted the mass crypto adoption to the moon, and they continue on the most successful path these days as well.

While Europe seems to be doing its best to gain control over the digital asset investors, not quite the whole world is doing the same. Below, you can see ten of the most important cities out there that have understood the crucial role that digital assets have for our financial freedom and in which crypto adoption thrives.

 

San Francisco

The tech capital of the US is home to crypto trading platforms Kraken and Coinbase, and this probably means a lot. Over 100 merchants are accepting BTC, and these include restaurants and stores, hotels, and more. There are over 430 BTC ATMs in the Bay Area, and these include 65 in the city itself.

 

Amsterdam

Here, we have the mining hardware maker Bitfury and the European headquarters of payment service provider BitPay. Coinmap is identifying more than 40 places where you can spend your BTC, including bike repair shops, barbers, and coffee shops, among others.

The city’s 840,000 residents have about half a dozen bitcoin ATMs available to them. Merchants in Utrecht, Rotterdam, and The Hague also accept crypto.

 

Vancouver

Vancouver is another city in which the mass adoption of Bitcoin and crypto is flourishing. Here in Canada, Bitcoin has a really strong community, and the nation has taken a lot of regulatory steps to embrace the digital asset. It’s also important to know the fact that Vancouver is home to QuadrigaCX, the defunct crypto exchange that lost $180 million in client funds. This happened after the alleged death of its founder.

According to the details revealed by Investopedia, there are over 50 merchants who accept BTC in Vancouver or around the nearby suburbs and 221 locations to buy the digital asset. In fact, the world’s first bitcoin ATM began operations at Waves Coffee House on October 29, 2013, in downtown Vancouver.

 

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ljubljana is a city in Slovenia where crypto is also thriving, believe it or not. In the capital of Slovenia, the massive Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp was founded by the Slovenians before they set up operations in London and Luxembourg. There are also BTC ATMs in the city and the surrounding areas.

More than 200 merchants said that they are accepting crypto.

 

Tel Aviv

This is the financial center of Israel, and it’s also one of the world’s leading cities for startups. It has 19 merchants that accept BTC, and there are 7 BTC ATMs in a population of more than 541,000. One other issue that is interesting to note is the fact that the Israel Bitcoin Meetup Group in Tel Aviv is among the most active in the world, with more than 4,000 members.

 

Miami, Florida

This is a major metropolis, and it has more than 12 merchants who claim that they accept Bitcoin. There are more than 650 ATMs for Bitcoin, and the city is also home to the Miami Bitcoin Conference. Just in case you did not know, this is one of the oldest and largest conventions of the cryptocurrency industry. The city’s government has a lot of plans involving crypto, and one of these includes getting more and more ways to attract blockchain businesses to their city. A lot of things have been made in this direction, and Mayor Francis Suarez has proposed investing city funds in bitcoin and even launching a municipal cryptocurrency.

 

El Zonte, El Salvador

El Salvador is a country that has been featured in the headlines a lot in 2021. The country is one of the biggest Bitcoin and crypto supporters out there. It recently declared Bitcoin as legal tender, and this boosted the mass crypto adoption to the moon. Crypto enthusiasts are certain that more and more nations will be doing the same soon.

Anyway, El Zonte is seeking to rebrand itself as Bitcoin Beach these days. This is the world’s first BTC-centered economy, and it comes following a massive crypto donation to the municipal government.

The town got its very first BTC ATM back in 2020. It’s important to note the fact that one of 1500 of the ATMs was installed around the country as El Salvador moved to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

This means that Bitcoin can now be used to pay taxes, and foreign investors will not be subject to capital gains taxes. It’s also worth noting the fact that the national government has also worked with entrepreneurs to introduce a simplified bitcoin wallet for low-fee transactions.

 

London

London flaunts 8.9 million residents, and there are 50 BTC ATMs here. About the same number of merchants are now accepting BTC for payments. There are important startups that are built in the country, which include Coinfloor. This claims to be the oldest BTC exchange in the UK. There are also a lot of BTC and crypto meetup groups in London as well.

 

New York City

This is a financial tech hub that hosts 8.4 million people. They can spend their Bitcoin at about three dozen merchants who are in the metro area. These include the Bitcoin Store in lower Manhattan and CryptoART in Morningside Heights. New York is also an extremely important hub for crypto startups and media companies, such as CoinDesk, Decrypt, and CoinTelegraph, as well as home to Consensus, one of the largest annual events in the crypto industry.

 

Dubai, UAE

Dubai is basically the crypto heaven for Bitcoin enthusiasts. There are so many reasons for this, and we’ll explore the most important ones below.

Thanks to its openness to trade and low taxes, the United Arab Emirates has the 10th-freest economy in the world, according to the Index of Economic Freedom.

Governments in the UAE openly encourage foreign investment, and cities like Dubai are well known for their entrepreneurial spirit.

UAE is one of the most luxurious and desired places on earth to be at the moment. There are a lot of reasons for which you will want to spend your wealth here.

Also, if your dream is to buy a property in the UAE, crypto is definitely the safest option for purchasing and making payments. There are many reasons why real estate investors opt for it these days to keep the transaction process secure.

Purchasing real estate properties in the UAE using crypto is a fantastic choice thanks to its cost-effectiveness and saving extra energy and time that the process usually requires. Acquiring possessions and settlements of the properties is a challenging process otherwise.

But on the blockchain, after the payment is approved, there will be an instant transfer of the property, and you will be the sole owner. No delays are at stake and there are a lot of specialized platforms out there these days that are making sure of all this.

Interested clients can focus on the purchases that they want to make, while specialized entities are taking care of the rest.

Using crypto to buy a property in the UAE, especially if you are an international buyer, will be highly cost-effective. This is extremely important especially in 2022 when the world is seeing so many financial issues amidst various world crises.

Using crypto costs less on international transfers and payments than traditional ones. Usually, banks charge hefty fees, but when you use crypto, you will not have to bother about such aspects involving extra charges. Cryptos make instant transactions possible at low prices.

 

Dubai is a crypto haven for enthusiasts – main reasons

Experts conclude that Dubai, the wealthy city in the UAE, is one of the best places to be if you are a crypto enthusiast who is looking to live on digital assets.

“With no capital gains tax, ease of buying and selling (crypto) anonymously and spending with cash makes life very easy for an enthusiast (in Dubai),” said a source who spoke to BeInCrypto on the condition that they would not be named.

“Compared to most industrialized countries, I would say that Dubai is one of the easiest and best places to come and realize and spend crypto gains. Being able to buy property and cars directly for bitcoin is very unique and in many western countries not even possible,” they added.

Dubai is a growing crypto hub

Dubai and UAE, in general, are attractive crypto destinations, and this is mainly due to the ease of converting Bitcoin and most cryptos into cash with low fees while remaining almost anonymous.

This is vital these days when most authorities are trying their best to kill privacy and anonymity. Just look at what’s been happening in Europe.

The countries that are included in the European Union are seeing some important changes these days.

The whole crypto space has been shaken by the decision that the EU Parliament took a few days ago. The members of the EU voted for new regulatory measures which turn out to prohibit anonymous crypto transactions.

Decrypt online magazine notes that the vote was first reported by CoinDesk, and soon after confirmed to Decrypt by Valeria Cusseddu, advisor to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

“The ECON and LIBE committees voted to approve a proposal that would require cryptocurrency service providers, such as exchanges, to collect personally identifiable information from individuals who transact more than 1,000 euros using so-called unhosted cryptocurrency wallets,” according to the same online publication mentioned above.

It’s also important to note the fact that the votes on a few amendments were tight, but still, the final draft was overwhelmingly approved.

Europe is seeing some changes that will definitely affect the crypto space a lot, and investors are not happy – this is one of the reasons why the UAE is an excellent destination for crypto enthusiasts these days.

Trading crypto in Dubai

Exchanges generally require a basic know-your-customer (KYC) identity and “nothing more.”

In the case of Cointral, which is a Turkish-owned exchange with an OTC desk in the Emirate, “you just walk in and trade on the spot,” a source told BeInCrypto during an interview.

The crypto exchange mentioned above charges a general fee of 3%. even though this might seem a bit much, “there are also many local dealers you can find to make low to high volume peer-to-peer (P2P) trades with fees around 1%.”

UAE-based online exchange Bitoasis offers similar OTC services, according to the same source who spoke to the publication. This allows “people to buy and sell with local bank transfers.”

It’s really important to note the fact that crypto use in Dubai is so fluid that the central government has adopted deliberate strategies to advance mainstream usage.

 

No questions and no tax on income and capital

It’s also important to mention the fact that back in February, there was a government-owned entity in Dubai named Kiklabb, that began accepting BTC, ETH, and USDT as payments for its services.

Just in case you did not know, Kiklabb is a free trade zone that helps companies to set up shops in the Emirate. It also issues trading and more licenses. It also deals with visa processing. There are more and more companies that are taking care of Visas these days, as we already noted in our previous articles as well.

One important name among them is Crypto Expat – they understand the importance of getting a Visa quickly for those interested.

According to the official website, Crypto Expat can help prepare a Visa for all individuals who want or plan to retire to the UAE. This way, people can get the chance to build their company easily and enjoy all the benefits of developing it in the UAE.

The entity called Kiklabb also leases office space to its customers on board the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner anchored at Port Rashid in Dubai. The amazing thing is that the payments for this and other services can be made in Bitcoin.

Crypto adoption obviously flourishes in Dubai, as you can see.

Tasawar Ulhaq, who is the chief executive officer of Kiklabb, said that crypto-based payments offer boosted accessibility for global entrepreneurs who are looking to start a business in the UAE. “Cryptocurrencies are the payment method of the future,” he stated.

Dubai is definitely a pro-crypto location that allows investors to buy, sell, or hold digital assets at zero taxes.

This seems absolutely outrageous to most of the world’s governments.

Most of them are pushing new legislation to levy taxes on capital gains from BTC. UAE has the goal of allowing more investments in the local crypto industry.

The same source said the following: “Dubai and UAE don’t have any tax on income or capital rendering the anti-money laundering laws very relaxed.”

They continued and revealed that crypto “are neither illegal nor recognized as legal tender in the UAE.”

It seems that banks could sometimes question the source of funds when conducting transfers, “but generally, it’s no questions asked up to very high volume.”

According to reports, the UAE is planning to use blockchain technology for 50% of government transactions this year. The Dubai Future Foundation estimates that the country could save more than $3 billion through blockchain and crypto use.

A lot of investors have been making great gains via crypto, and lots of them are looking to cash out. Dubai is offering great opportunities in this direction. Check out the most popular questions about crypto, finances, and Dubai below.

 

 

Getting residence in Dubai and eliminating crypto taxes – FAQ

 

How are personal gains treated in Dubai?

At the moment, Dubai has 0% personal income taxes. This means that if you are a resident here, regardless of the gains that you are making, there is no personal income tax.

Regardless of the fact if you are actively trading or only hodling, there are zero taxes on capital gains, and this applies to salary and business income as well. The gross income figure is the same as your net figure. Other tax authorities are treating gains from cryptos with capital gains tax, but you will not see this happening in Dubai.

This is obviously one of the main reasons why wealthy people are setting their eyes on this location.

 

How can people benefit from low BTC taxes?

Tax laws focus on facts, and this is extremely important to understand. Most of the personal taxes are levied based on the residency state of the person who is taxed. It’s also important to note that the Tax Authority of the country you are currently living in at the moment, probably has the right to tax your income based on the local tax laws.

Each country has its own laws to determine tax residency. They will be analyzing issues and elements such as the following: the number of days you spend there, whether you are the owner of a house there, or if you have economic or social ties. In case you want to benefit from low Dubai crypto taxes, all that you will have to do is migrate from the current location there.

What is the moving tax residency?

By factually migrating to Dubai, you can change your tax residency. The only real question that you have to ask yourself is the following: what do you need to do in order to no longer be a tax resident according to your current country’s rules? There are some cases in which there could be an exit tax.

 

What are the best financial advantages to moving to Dubai?

Dubai has a great tax system for crypto enthusiasts, and people will definitely love it. The system of zero corporation tax and zero income tax, no capital control restrictions – these are only some of the perks that you will enjoy in Dubai. It’s also important to note the fact that you can send and receive as much as you please.

Dubai has a well-established regulatory framework for digital assets.

We can easily say that Dubai is the only country for crypto investors that is easy to move to with legal certainty, no income taxes, and no reporting requirements.

 

How can you become a tax resident in Dubai?

Each and every country has its own requirements for people to become residents there. This could turn out to be an investment in real estate, getting a job, or starting a business as well. The best way for an investor to become a resident in Dubai is to register their company in one of the Free Zones. Companies that are situated in these locations can rent office space in the UAE. Based on this office space that the company is entitled to, apply for residency visas for you, your family, and employees as well.

These things will give you the right to stay in the UAE. More than that, there are also various affordable flexi solutions that are called flexi-desks.

The bottom line is that after you have moved to Dubai, you become subjected to Dubai tax and reporting requirements on your personal holdings.

 

How can this apply to crypto investors?

First of all, you have to begin by setting up a free zone entity with the correct trade activity. There are a lot of activities possible, and all you have to do is dig a little for some research. You will have to set up a company in order to obtain residency. You will be the shareholder and manager of the company, and after it’s established, you will be able to apply for a residency visa.

As we noted above, platforms such as Crypto Expat make sure that interested clients get the best out of their experience in Dubai – one of the best locations to enjoy your digital assets, even for purchasing properties.

There is zero corporation and income tax in the UAE, and there are no reporting requirements of your personal investments in crypto to any authority in the UAE.

The only catch is that you have to renew the company every year and pay the appropriate licensing fee. You have to maintain any obligations regarding the visa.

 

Closing words

Bitcoin’s first block was mined back in 2009, and since then, the king crypto has been able to see substantial improvements. The impressive rate of digital asset adoption suggests the fact that crypto is here to stay. It’s also not a surprising fact that international financial centers have embraced Bitcoin. More nations understand the importance of getting on board the crypto wagon these days and things will definitely get spicier with each passing day.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had an important message for governments all over the world at the end of last year. As you probably know by now, Musk has been a massive crypto supporter for a while now, and he has been using Twitter even to manipulate the crypto market. He was usually criticized for such kinds of moves.

The mogul who just became the most significant Twitter shareholder said that while the advancement of digital assets can be slowed down, crypto cannot be destroyed now.

“I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government. They don’t like that,” news portal decrypt.co quoted Musk as saying on September 29.

He reportedly continued and revealed the following:

“It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement.”

Anyway, as a conclusion, in 2022, you definitely need digital assets. Besides the fact that crypto is a great investment, one of the best that you can make these days, Bitcoin turned out to be an important safe haven and a hedge against inflation.

Bitcoin started out as a bold project, but at its beginnings, it was seen as extremely volatile. Times have changed, and so did crypto and the digital assets will continue to evolve.