The US news outlet CoinDesk, which specialises in Bitcoin and other digital currencies, established eight criteria to determine the best location for cryptocurrency worldwide. These criteria ranged from quality of life to entrepreneur appeal to digital infrastructure (see How We Ranked CoinDesk’s Crypto Hubs 2023: Our Methodology). The experts were interviewed to identify five to ten or more crypto hubs around the world that they thought would be eligible for the ranking. To do this, they should explain in one or two sentences what each town has to offer and how they would prioritise the ranking criteria.
“Tiny is mighty, when it comes to performance,” CoinDesk says, establishing the top position of the Swiss canton of Zug. The city has everything: clarity in regulation, crypto-friendly banks, and a vibrant crypto labour market and event calendar. And because Zug is so small, however, the idea of the Crypto Valley would also take into account the nearby cities of Zurich, Bern, and Geneva. In Switzerland, there are crypto banks like SEBA and Sygnum, the taxes are low, and there are fintechs everywhere. The University of Zurich has a strong blockchain centre, and the Zuger government has already pledged 39 million Swiss francs for a blockchain research centre.
Features of Zug
The canton of Zug has always been progressive when it comes to bitcoin and crypto. For two years, Bitcoin and Ether have also been accepted for tax payments. Now the transaction limit for tax payments in both digital currencies has been increased from 100,000 to 1.5 million francs.
Financial Director Heinz Tännler explained the measure to the news outlet MoneyToday. “With the increase in the transaction limit, we are sending another signal for the acceptance and spread of this innovative payment method,” he said. Access to digital means of payment is becoming easier and follows the growing needs of Zuger citizens. Since the introduction of the possibility of cryptocurrency payments, tax payments in the canton of Zug have been realised in about 150 transactions, with a total volume of approximately 2 million francs in Bitcoin and Ether. Based on the positive experience so far, the Finance Directorate of the canton of Zug is now motivating taxable individuals and companies to try out the alternative payment channel and pay their taxes with cryptocurrencies.
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