Seychelles Crypto Tax Haven Moved $36 Billion in BTC Transactions

Exchanges based on Seychelles, a small island nation just east of the African continent, has stood as a world leader in cross-border transactions made in Bitcoin, in 2019. Nowadays, people know Switzerland for its watchmaking, and similarly, they know Seychelles as the hub for cryptocurrnecy exchanges.

Seychelles Stands As The Crypto Haven

The country itself is small, with a total population standing less than 100,00. However, it stands as the perfect place for enterprises to set up shop, as the country’s regulators are known to hold a light touch. As such, it’s easy for an enterprising organization to optimize their tax liabilities to the fullest.

Through a recent report made by Crystal Blockchain, an examination was made between the various exchanges situated across the globe. Exchanges based in Seychelles, however, were the leaders in both sending and receiving funds.

A Hub Of Crypto Trading

Binance, an exchange that had some controversy for being misrepresented as a Malta-based exchange, is now considered based in Seychelles by the report.

According to the report, 2019 saw 12 Seychelles exchanges receive a staggering $15.83 billion in BTC from foreign exchanges. On the other hand, these Seychelles exchanges managed to send out even more in BTC: $20.83 billion worth of it. The USA, with 25 crypto exchanges instead of 12, took second place, recording $18 billion in the total turnover for cross-border payments.

In terms of the crypto space, the most active international trade routes stands between Seychelles and the US, Seychelles and the US, and Seychelles and South Korea. Thus, this small island nation has quickly become the hub of crypto trading, with each of these connections producing an excess of $2 billion volumes.

Strange Times To Live In

As the world at large sees regulators trying to tighten the grip on crypto regulations, it will be fascinating to see what the world’s regulatory shift will do the crypto exchanges at large.  It’s yet to be seen whether trading will start to migrate to crypto-friendly jurisdictions, where protections for the investor are enhanced. Another possibility is the reverse occurring, moving crypto to more unregulated jurisdictions in order to protest the government pushing into these sectors.

Either way, the world is in a strange time, overall. A virus derailed the entirety of 2020’s original plans, and America is caught up in violent demonstrations and protests. All the while, the crypto industry continues to move forward.