Jun 5
Which Cities Will Emerge as “Crypto” Capitals?
“Proximity is Power” — Tony Robbins
Since 2017 crypto has entered the public consciousness in a mostly-positive way.
However, much work remains to be done in order to make a strong use case for crypto and onboard the rest of the world.
I believe that innovation in wallets and NFT will be the catalyst that creates an “iPhone” moment. Work by Robinhood, Coinbase, Block, and Meta have already begun to reflect this.
Central to this thesis will require strong crypto “hubs” — areas where talent is concentrated, even in a decentralized, remote work setting era that we live in.
“Location, location, location” — is key to networking, contacts, business, deals, co-founders, and funding.
So, if you’re wondering which cities are the top places where crypto talent is going, keep reading.
- Austin — Austin has always been a tech hub since the late 90’s. Many of my friends and colleagues rode the internet wave right after graduation, moving to Austin and setting up shop there. With an abundance of land, cheap energy, relatively low cost of living, plenty of jobs, and a friendly business environment, Austin boasts one of the most popular destinations for work after the “Great Resignation”. Many companies, including Tesla, Argo Blockchain, and others moved their operations from expensive cities such as San Francisco and New York City into the Lone Star State. On a side note, with Bitcoin mining companies moving into Rockdale, Dallas, Amarillo, and Corsicana, and with its unique energy infrastructure, challenges, and opportunities, Texas may play a significant role in BTC mining and the energy space.
- Miami — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has pushed efforts into making Miami the center of the crypto universe, creating partnerships, and creating business opportunities for entrepreneurs interested in the ecosystem. This year, Miami hosted one of the biggest BitCoin conferences bringing in a wealth of talent, capital, and those interested in capitalizing on the space. Additionally, the Miami American Airlines arena was recently renamed to FTX, one of two sports stadiums to be backed by crypto companies, the other being Crypto.com (Cronos) earning the naming rights to the former Staples Stadium in Los Angeles. Miami is home to a flourishing startup ecosystem, so the future is bright for this beautiful city.
- Wyoming — I find this an extremely interesting location. Companies such as Kraken and Avanti are calling this place home. It also is poised to become the crypto “banking” capital of the world. Senators such as Cynthia Lummis and other notables including Caitlin Long call this place home.
- South America — the region that stands to benefit the most from crypto is South America with its history of unstable regimes, currency crises, and hyperinflation. Crypto is not only a way to get ahead financially for these individuals, but more importantly, it will enable economic and financial inclusion for those that don’t have access to traditional banking services, or those that depend upon remittances sent from loved ones overseas, but are saddled with high fees. With El Salvador leading the way with the first country to adopt BTC as legal tender, as well as BTC mining, and BTC-backed loans, other countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and others are following suit, with the rest of the world watching closely. It is also home to countries such as Puerto Rico offering numerous tax benefits and incentives for wealthy ex-pats due to zero capital gains taxes.
- Singapore — a country known for its high-quality education, high quality of living, conscientious citizens, and fiscally responsible government, Singapore is home to many blockchain companies, aiming to make their mark in the space, and is aiming to make the country a global crypto hub.
- New York City — has always been a financial hub with traditional Wall Street firms. It is home to the Winklevoss twins. However, Manhattan is rife with regulations, politics, and bureaucracy, so startups may find it hard to get a foothold into the ecosystem compared to legacy players in the TradFi space.
- San Francisco — has been the hub of venture capital, startups, and the center of the tech scene with companies including Meta, Google, Apple, Coinbase, Uber, Lyft, and AirBNB. However, the soaring cost of living, the emergence of WFH, and other factors has witnessed a drain of companies leaving the city for elsewhere.
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Other notable cities worth mentioning include Berlin, London, Lisbon, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
So which city will emerge? Only time will tell
Curious about what are your thoughts.
Leave them in the comments and replies.
About: Dr. Christopher Loo is a physician who became financially free at the age of 29, and retired early at the age of 38, as a result of making strategic investments after the 2008 financial crisis. A graduate of the MD-PhD program offered jointly through the Baylor College of Medicine and Department of Bioengineering at Rice University, he is the author of “How I Quit My Lucrative Career and Achieved Financial Freedom Using Real Estate”, and is the host of the Financial Freedom for Physicians Podcast. He is a regular contributor to KevinMD and has spoken about the importance of financial literacy for Passive Income MD, the White Coat Investor, Board Vitals, SEAK Non-Clinical Careers, SoMe Docs, Doximity, Medpage Today, FinCon, and other high-profile financial brands geared towards high-income professionals. He is passionate about the role that crypto, fintech, and innovation will play in enabling financial freedom, economic inclusion, access and opportunity for the entire world in the upcoming decades.
