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- Jack Tan, co-founder of Taipei-based Woo Network, says that while the West will continue to lead crypto’s future, the East is going to play a major role, and a West-East partnership may be crypto’s model for the future.
- Western crypto companies are looking to the East for fresh opportunities and tech-embracing governments.
Western Crypto Companies Eyeing East for Fresh Opportunities and More Favorable Regulations
Regulations in the U.S. are prompting Western crypto companies to explore the East for new opportunities and welcoming business environments. While the West will still lead the future of crypto, the East is poised to play a crucial role in its growth, says Jack Tan, co-founder of Taipei-based Woo Network. The East is alluring Western companies with more crypto-friendly laws and regulations.
For instance, Hong Kong is open to crypto firms, Japan has relaxed token listing requirements, Thailand has waived taxes for initial coin offerings, and Dubai is aiming to become a global crypto hub. Moreover, the East is driving crypto innovation by spurring higher adoption rates.
East’s Role in Crypto’s Growth and the Dominance of Western Crypto Companies
Despite this, there are several reasons why Western companies will continue to dominate crypto’s future. Western nations have stronger economies and nurture talented individuals through a culture of innovation and robust financial markets. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, for example, were raised and educated in Canada.
The founders of Coinbase, Grayscale, OpenSea, Gemini, Kraken, Uniswap, and Chainalysis are mostly from the U.S. and educated in the country. The West is also home to the top 10 most innovative economies, as per the Global Innovation Index, including Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and Denmark. Additionally, most financial and fintech centers supporting the crypto industry are still in the West, with 14 of the top 20 financial centers in the Global Financial Centres Index being from this region.
However, the crypto industry will still require support from financial and fintech centers. While the East has more supportive regulations, the West boasts a more open regulatory environment, faster crypto adoption, and a greater inflow of funds. A collaboration between Western companies with talent and other resources and tech-embracing governments in the East can prove to be a potent combination.
