The UAE has the highest public crypto adoption rate in the world along with Singapore, according to the Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report released on Tuesday.
The UAE and Singapore scored 7.1 out of 10 on the Crypto Adoption Index, which covers six key parameters – public adoption, infrastructure adoption, innovation and technology, regulatory environment, economic factors, and tax-friendliness.
Public adoption measures the level of awareness, interest, and engagement with cryptocurrencies in the general population. It includes indicators such as the percentage of crypto users relative to the total population, Google search interest related to cryptocurrencies, and the number of institutions offering courses on blockchain and cryptocurrency. Higher public adoption indicates a more crypto-friendly environment.
Overall, the report ranked the UAE third after Singapore and Switzerland with a score of 50.2 out of 60. Out of 10 points, the UAE scored 10 in tax-friendliness, 9.3 in innovation and technology, 8.9 in economic factors, 8.5 in the regulatory environment, 7.1 in public adoption and 6.4 in infrastructure adoption.
While Hong Kong, USA, Australia, the UK, Canada Malta, Malaysia, Thailand, Netherlands, Italy, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, New Zealand, Monaco, Portugal, Cyprus and Mauritius were ranked among the top 20 countries in the Crypto Adoption Index.
“The UAE stands out as a leading jurisdiction for crypto investors, with its strong public adoption score evidencing a vibrant interest in the crypto ecosystem. The Middle Eastern powerhouse also offers favourable tax policies and a high level of economic stability,” said Henley & Partners.
“In the UAE, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (FSRA-ADGM) was the first to provide rules and regulations regarding cryptocurrency purchasing and selling. The Emirates are generally very open to new technologies and have proposed zero taxes for crypto owners and businesses,” it said.
Crypto millionaires
The Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report was launched in cooperation with New World Wealth, which tracks the movements and spending habits of over 150,000 high-net-worth individuals, with a special focus on individuals with over $10 million in investable assets.
In total, there are an estimated 88,200 crypto millionaires globally, 182 centi-millionaires and 22 billionaires.
Dr Niklas J.R.M. Schmidt, partner at the Austrian law firm Wolf Theiss, said crypto assets are an exciting new asset class that millionaires and their family offices need to take cognisance of.
“Bitcoin and Ether together have approximately 65.2 per cent market share. By way of comparison, the next three crypto assets have market shares of 7.6 per cent, 2.9 per cent, and 2.5 per cent. Thus, for many investors new to the crypto space it could make sense to limit oneself initially to investments into Bitcoin and Ether, since these are by far the largest players,” he said.
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