Original Author | Jeff Benson, Scott Chipolina, Jason Nelson

From the listing of the encryption exchange Coinbase to El Salvador's use of Bitcoin as legal tender, the encryption industry has completed the transformation of the integration of the digital world and the real world in 2021. While the crypto community is more willing to embrace the decentralized world, real-world venues are still very important — after all, no one can fully live in a blockchain.

That’s why this article compiles a list of the most influential crypto cities in the world. These 15 cities are shaping the technology, culture, and policies that integrate crypto into everyday life. They were chosen not just because they were ideal places to live, but because of the huge impact they had on the crypto industry.

15. London, England

London's status as a European financial center has long given it an edge in attracting crypto innovators. Blockchaincom, the oldest bitcoin wallet provider, calls London home, as do upstarts such as ethereum wallet Argent and digital asset custodian Copper.

Additionally, the city was crucial for hosting the second Devcon, the largest Ethereum event of 2015.

But its influence is waning. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set its sights on cryptocurrencies, warning the crypto exchange Binance not to engage in any services in the UK and exhorting cryptocurrency investors to "get ready to lose all your money." Coupled with the split between the UK and the EU However, some crypto companies are likely to abandon London and locate their European operations elsewhere.

14. Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

While New York state has been hesitant about how to structure its regulatory framework as it has taken a tough line against crypto companies, Wyoming is going all-in. The legislature in the state’s capital, Cheyenne, has worked with crypto companies to develop friendly regulations for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Today, crypto companies such as Kraken and Avanti have established outposts in Wyoming.

13. Lagos, Nigeria

Although Abuya, the capital of Nigeria, has always been a zero zone for people to resist the central bank's monetary policy and cryptocurrency restrictions, the old capital of Lagos is Africa's largest financial center and city. Use cryptocurrencies. This year, Nigeria topped the charts for peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading volume in Africa and is second only to the United States globally.

12. Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv is Israel's major tech hub and startup hotspot, with more per capita income than any city in the US except California. Blockchain technology is no exception. The city of more than 432,000 people is home to 90 of Israel's 150 blockchain companies. Coinbase acquired Unbound Security, a Tel Aviv-based company that uses a novel technology to store cryptocurrencies, in November 2021. In February, bitcoin lender Celsius Network opened an office in Tel Aviv.

11. Zug, Switzerland

Zug was nearly left off the list due to one key problem: it wasn't big enough to be a city. But the Swiss town of 30,000 is the headquarters of the Ethereum Foundation, so it's helping steer the nearly $500 billion cryptocurrency.

Known as "Crypto Valley," Zug has a more friendly regulation for the crypto industry, and has also attracted Ethereum competitors Tezos, Dfinity, Bancor and Cardano. As of this year, these companies can even pay taxes in cryptocurrencies.

10. Singapore

Singapore is the financial center of Asia. With China cracking down on cryptocurrencies and Hong Kong failing to clarify crypto regulations, Singapore's presence in the crypto world is growing. Two of the world's largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Binance, are seeking a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate here.

Even without them, the country has attracted an impressive number of crypto firms, including market data firms Nansen and Footprint, crypto exchange Cryptocom and DeFi protocol Kyber Network.

9. Berlin, Germany

As early as 2013, the market in the Berlin-Kreuzberg district was known for accepting bitcoin payments, and Berlin also at one point had the most businesses accepting cryptocurrencies in the world. Meanwhile, Berlin has almost the same status in the Ethereum space, being the site of the first Devcon (2014) and later, with ETHBerlin, the hottest hackathon in Europe.

Today, there are at least 15 crypto companies in Berlin, including Centrifuge and Gnosis.

8. Toronto, Canada

The Toronto-based Ontario Securities Commission has approved a number of crypto ETFs this year to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (ETFs include bitcoin, ethereum and a combination of cryptocurrencies). While a bitcoin ETF has yet to come to the United States south of Canada, Toronto may become known for exporting crypto innovations.

It is the birthplace of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and co-founder Joseph Lubin, who also founded Web3 software development and investment firm ConsenSys.

7. Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal is one of the few countries that does not impose a capital gains tax on cryptocurrency gains, meaning crypto enthusiasts can relax in the capital, Lisbon.

This fall, Ethereum community members and Solana team members took to the beach in Lisbon for the ETHLisbon and Solana Breakpoint events. With London's clout waning and Portugal's embrace of financial innovation, Lisbon's future could be a magnet for more than parties and hackathons.

6. New York, USA

In Bitcoin's early days, New York's overly restrictive regulatory framework, the BitLicense (crypto license), drove out crypto companies like ShapeShift and Kraken. But New York's next mayor, Eric Adams, is working hard to attract and retain crypto firms. Adams has vowed to use bitcoin for his first three salaries, defeating Miami Mayor Francis Suarez's pledge to use bitcoin for one paycheck.

It's hard to argue with the influence of New York City, where Wall Street and FinTech have combined to create such well-known crypto companies for investors as Galaxy Digital, Gemini, Paxos, Grayscale, ConsenSys, and OpenSea.

5. El Salvador

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has become one of bitcoin’s loudest and proudest advocates since announcing bitcoin as legal tender later this year.

Bukeler also pledged to use renewable energy (from volcanoes) to mine Bitcoin. While green mining has yet to catch on, El Salvador’s move has other Latin American countries battling inflation and meager foreign exchange reserves considering adopting bitcoin as their national currencies.

4. Miami, USA

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez helped host the 2021 Bitcoin Conference this year with nearly 15,000 attendees.

Additionally, Suarez puts cryptocurrencies at the heart of his agenda — allowing people to be paid in bitcoin, advocating for cryptocurrencies to be added to municipal coffers and, of course, encouraging crypto companies to come in.

In June 2021, Bitcoin wallet provider Blockchaincom announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters from New York to Miami. At the same time, crypto derivatives exchange FTX spent tens of millions of dollars to acquire the naming rights of the NBA's Miami Heat stadium. Suarez's welcome to bitcoin has more crypto companies considering setting up their headquarters here.

3. China, Beijing

While Beijing won’t be a favorite among crypto enthusiasts, few other cities can have such an impact on the crypto industry.

This year, China has banned cryptocurrency trading and has done a better job of banning mining in particular. However, China has achieved great success in the exploration of the digital renminbi, and the success of the large-scale digital renminbi pilot may influence other countries to explore central bank digital currencies.

2. Washington DC, USA

Crypto markets typically move up and down on legislative and regulatory rumors that leak out of Washington, D.C.

Under new chairman Gary Gensler, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pushing for stricter investor protection laws, arguing that the DeFi space is flooded with unregistered securities and even threatening to sue Coinbase, one of the largest companies in the crypto industry.

But bitcoin advocates like Ted Cruz and Cynthia Lummis have been waving the flag on policymakers enacting crypto regulations, while lobbying groups like Coin Center and the Blockchain Association While increasing its influence, it also won the attention of policymakers.

1. San Francisco, USA

Kraken, OKCoin, and Robinhood all have large footprints here, not to mention Coinbase, whose executives are still clustered in San Francisco. San Francisco is not only the home of Google, but also of Brave, the crypto search engine that hopes to replace it.

Want to get funding? Here you can see A16z (Andreessen Horowitz) and Y Combinator.

According to the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risk of Hype in Virtual Currency Transactions" issued by the central bank and other departments, the content of this article is only for information sharing, and does not promote or endorse any operation and investment behavior. Readers are requested to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the region and do not participate in Any illegal financial conduct.

risk warning:

According to the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risk of Hype in Virtual Currency Transactions" issued by the central bank and other departments, the content of this article is only for information sharing, and does not promote or endorse any operation and investment behavior. Readers are requested to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the region and do not participate in Any illegal financial conduct.