Top BITCOIN and CRYPTO friendly places

Miami mayor Francis Juarez made strides in the news this past month for his decision to make Miami a crypto friendly city. Thus, with Bitcoin adoption resolution the city essentially gave the green light for Miami residents to get paid, and be able to pay their taxes and city fees in BTC.

It looks like Miami's embrace of crypto will make it  pioneer in the US and one of the leaders around the world that are jumping into the crypto ship sooner than later.

This is what Francis Juarez had to say on the topic

The rise of #Bitcoin speaks to the power of decentralization of digital assets that may become a currency in an economy that is growing exponentially.

But what are some cities and countries around the world that are ultra crypto-friendly? Here is a list!

Arnhem - The Netherlands

The Netherlands is undoubtedly on of the friendliest and most accepting places in it comes to bitcoin and crypto. Among the iconic canals of Amsterdam you will find a number of bitcoin ATMs while conferences on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are being held regularly (also in university venues). BitPay has its European HQ in the city. Arnhem, a city of more than 150,00 people in the eastern part of the country, surprisingly is leading and surpassing even Amsterdam in terms of wider adoption! Arnhem is also known as Bitcoinstad (Bitcoin-city) where you can pay in more than 100 different vendors in the center of the city in bitcoin therefore being able to do your everyday shopping, socialize, and run your errands cash free. Imagine getting your morning coffee and Dutch strootwaffles while renting a bike from a bike-shop to roam around the city, then stop at the local barber to get a haircut, after than go in the local supermarket to do your shopping before you return into your Airbnb. You will be able to do all that while paying in crypto.

You can learn more how the idea behind Arnhem Bitcoinstad / Bitcoin city started here.

Buenos Aires

For many, Buenos Aires, one of the historical capitals of Football in Latin America is also a bitcoin friendly destination. The city of Tango and the football superclasico of Boca Juniors and River Plate, the most famous football derby world-wide, bar that of Barcelona and Real Madrid, is also the South American leader in terms of bitcoin acceptance. More than 100 merchants within the city accept payments in bitcoin. The financial turmoil that has plagued the country repeatedly such as the Great Argentinian Depression of 1998 - 2002, the stagnation of the years that followed, and the new deep recession that is looming again with capital controls being imposed by the government, re-profiling of debt payment, very high inflation, make common Argentinians less afraid of Bitcoin's and crypto's volatility and more forward looking towards the adoption of blockchain technology that will offer them financial decentralization and independence from failed government policies and controls.

This is an interesting article on how crypto is trying to save Argentina.

Zug - Switzerland

For many, Switzerland is a no brainer that it should be in this list. Some of you were probably expecting Zurich to make it into it. Undoubtedly, Switzerland's biggest city is well positioned with tens of businesses accepting payments in bitcoin and a number of ATMs where you can buy it within the city. Another important place in Switzerland is the small and unknown city of Zug, labelled as the Swiss crypto valley. Strong business infrastructure, the Swiss culture of privacy (including in the Banking sector), and a crypto and blockchain friendly jurisdiction make it one of the leading destinations for start-ups and establishing crypto businesses. Zug is also accepting payment of taxes either in BTC or ETH.

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is Israel's commercial and financial and technological capital. The coastal city situated in the Mediterranean and home for more than 460,000 people is the third or fourth economy in the Middle East. The high focus on research and tech has made Tel Aviv home to hundreds of start-up and one of the most innovative cities in the world. Dozens of vendors already accept payments in bitcoin and there are a number of bitcoin ATMs in the city. Some of the news coming from Tel Aviv recently is that Paypal acquired Curv, a crypto start up based in the city to accelerate its expansion into initiatives that support cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Estonia

The small Baltic state in the North of Europe, border Russia and Latvia, is another pioneer in blockchain adoption. Once a communist country behind the Iron Curtain, Estonia with a population of less than 1.5 million people only got its independence in 1991. As all other post-communist republics that got their sovereignty back  after the fall of communism, Estonia was lagging behind Western Europe in terms of economy, technology, and innovation. Yet, it was the first country of the former eastern bloc to adopt a modernization policy of digital reforms that would allow it to make technological leaps and surpass a number of western countries in terms of adoption and implementation of new technologies. They were the first to initiate the E-Residency programme based on blockchain and its blockchain / innovation friendly approach has made it a hub for start ups and blockchain companies with more than 700 based in Estonia as of 2019.

You can read more about e-Estonia in the following articles: i) ii)

Malta

Known for its turquoise waters, hot summers, and as a historical crossroads between Africa and Europe in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta is another Bitcoin haven. The country of around 400,000 people, equal to a small or medium European city, is also the most densely populated country in Europe. Labelled as a  tax haven within the EU a lot of foreign companies are registered in Malta in order to get faster and easier access to the EU Common Market while getting the Maltese residency is quite an easy process. The Maltese Government through the Maltese Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has attempted since 2018 to regulate crypto assets through a crypto legislation. Some of the largest Crypto companies such as the Exchange Binance where enticed initially by the support of the Maltese government featuring their official campaign. Although as of 2020, more than 70 percent of the companies that showed initial interest had not submitted their application for licensing.

Bonus:

New York could become the biggest crypto darling if Andrew Yang succeeds in his campaign to be elected as mayor of the world's foremost financial capital.

As mayor of NYC - the world’s financial capital - I would invest in making the city a hub for BTC and other cryptocurrencies.

-Andrew Yang

It looks like New York, which has been tested a lot the past year by the pandemic and its mismanagement by its current elected officials and the flee of bright minds and entrepreneurs towards more business friendly destinations such as Texas and Miami has lagged behind other places in the US and the World in crypto adoption and steps need to be taken in order to make it a hub and more crypto centric. It should be noted that there are already  dozens of merchants who accept payments in bitcoin in the Big Apple and a number of BTC ATMs within the city.

There are other pioneer cities and countries that are worth a special mention and will be included in the updated versions of this list (San Francisco, Vancouver, London, Singapore, S. Korea. & others)

How much bitcoin and crypto friendly is your city / country you live in? Comment to be included in the list.