As an emerging industry that was born less than 13 years ago, cryptocurrency has undergone many regulatory crackdowns and changes, especially in the United States. However, Decred co-founder Jake Yocom-Piatt believes that the United States is the most crypto-friendly country.
Yocom-Piatt said: “In most jurisdictions, cryptocurrencies are considered personal property, so their tax treatment is relatively uniform.” He continued:
“Cryptocurrency trading is a form of speech, so the state where freedom of speech is protected is the least likely to restrict cryptocurrency. Although the United States is currently facing many major socio-political issues, its freedom of speech and measures to protect passwords from being compulsorily disclosed Together, the United States has become the most crypto-friendly country in the world.”
Since 2017, the crypto industry has encountered a series of regulatory actions by U.S. regulators, from initial coin offering lawsuits to accusations against companies such as BitMEX. The U.S. Department of Justice also recently announced encryption regulatory parameters.
Earlier this year, US Congressman Tom Emmer expressed concern that US legal procedures and requirements will affect the progress of innovation. Yocom-Piatt believes that the United States is the most friendly country to cryptocurrency, but he emphasized from another angle that the reason why the United States has become the most friendly country to cryptocurrency is the freedom of speech in the United States, not the restriction of speech.
At the same time, Horizen co-founder and CEO Rob Viglione told Cointelegraph that he believes Puerto Rico is the most crypto-friendly country, although he answered this question from the perspective of an American. “I will nominate a country that is not normally regarded as a country but only as an encryption hotspot: Puerto Rico!” He added:
“For Americans, when you consider that special tax laws such as Act 20 or 22 will lower the effective tax rate, Puerto Rico is by far the most crypto-friendly jurisdiction.”
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service issued guidelines for taxation of its citizens’ digital assets in 2019, but it also raised further questions. The IRS subsequently issued new guidelines, including changes to encrypted tax reports.
Another complex component of the U.S. crypto tax is that cryptocurrency is not considered property, so users must report each transaction as gain or loss, rather than exempt similar property. According to Viglione, in addition to taxation, Puerto Rico has a strong cryptocurrency market:
“The benefits of tax savings are great, but what really sets Puerto Rico apart is its explosive development as the most active crypto community in the world. Many industry leaders, entrepreneurs and developers have chosen Puerto Rico as their new direction of development.”
Kosala Hemachandra, the founder and CEO of MyEtherWallet, also recently stated what he believes to be the most crypto-friendly region. Hemachandra believes that people may subjectively judge whether an encryption environment is good or bad. He also mentioned the importance of the global encryption atmosphere.
