Germany has risen to the top spot of Coincub’s guide to the most crypto-friendly countries in Q1 2022, overtaking Singapore, the United States, Australia, and Switzerland.
First, the German government demonstrates institutional acceptance of crypto. German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse has listed more than 20 crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) on its digital exchange, Xetra, over the past few months. German magazine Capital first reported in December that the country’s savings banks are looking to offer a wallet to trade cryptocurrency. Furthermore, Germany’s Fund Location Act allows public institutes to allocate up to 20% of their funds in digital assets. All these issues take Germany to the first place when we consider the government regulation.
In addition, Germany is one of the few countries in Europe that has started to regulate cryptocurrencies ahead of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets, or MiCA, regulation. It gives legal field and transparent rules of the game for blockchain start-ups.
That is probably the reason Germany has become home to various fintech businesses. Berlin counts over 180 start-ups in the blockchain business. Berlin’s many different and attractive sectors offer a solid level playing field for all types of blockchain businesses with a wide scope of activity. The largest mining company, Northern Data, is also located in Germany.
Another advantage is that the European country allows utilisation of crypto investments, supported by its zero-tax policy on long-term capital gains from crypto. However, there is fair criticism of this statement. The thing is, taxes on crypto are not charged only at the point of sale after a year of holding. It means such a tax regime is indeed favourable for long Bitcoin. But if you sell it prior to that one-year point, you are taxed under the usual capital gains regime, which offsets the benefit.
To sum up, the Government of Germany must be commended for its proactive stance on many issues when dealing with adoption and development of new technologies. A supportive environment makes Germany a market leader in the field of Blockchain technology.
