Hong Kong positioned as the most crypto-ready country in 2022

While public acceptance remains key to crypto’s existence, the path to mainstream crypto adoption requires governments to set up a supporting infrastructure that complements the demands of the technology and the people.

Factors such as crypto ATM installations, pro-crypto regulations, startup culture and a fair tax regime signal a country’s readiness to adopt cryptocurrencies. Taking these factors into account, a Forex Suggest study revealed Hong Kong’s position as the best-prepared country for widespread cryptocurrency adoption, with a crypto-readiness score of 8.6. Despite having a larger crypto infrastructure than the island nation, the US and Switzerland rounded out the top three with lower crypto readiness scores of 7.7 and 7.5 respectively, as shown below.

The biggest factors considered in the study to calculate a country’s readiness were the number of crypto-ATM installations proportional to the population and geographic size of the jurisdiction and the number of blockchain startups per 100,00 people. As a result, Hong Kong’s smaller land mass helped the country top the list.

CoinATMRadar data shows that the US houses 88% of global crypto ATM installations. On the contrary, Hong Kong installed a network of 146 crypto ATMs, representing only 0.4% of crypto ATMs worldwide. Due to its smaller area, Hong Kong residents are never more than 7 kilometers away from a crypto ATM.

On the other hand, Switzerland has a crypto ATM every 161.5 miles (260 km), while the United States has installed crypto ATMs every 168.3 miles (271 km).

Crypto taxes act as the biggest deterrent to mainstream crypto adoption. Hong Kong, Switzerland, Panama, Portugal, Germany, Malaysia and Turkey share the top spot for the lowest crypto capital gains taxes.

A country’s efforts to nurture a growing crypto infrastructure depend heavily on investor sentiment. That said, investors from major economies such as Australia, Ireland and the UK have shown the most interest in cryptocurrencies, signaling healthy pro-crypto competition worldwide.

Related: Opera Crypto Browser integrates Coin98 to strengthen Web3 accessibility in Southeast Asia

Opera Crypto Browser redoubled its efforts to improve Web3 accessibility by announcing a partnership with Coin98, a Southeast Asia-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, to strengthen Web3 accessibility.

By integrating Coin98, Opera’s Crypto Browser will be able to take advantage of the platform’s selection of multichain nonfungible tokens (NFT), decentralized exchanges (DEX), cross-chain bridges and asset swaps, as well as the ability to bet and lend their cryptocurrency portfolios. , according to an announcement Thursday.