Tiny Tax Haven Accounts for $36B of Cross-Border BTC Transactions

Seychelles-based exchanges led the world in cross-border Bitcoin (BTC) transactions in 2019. What Switzerland is to the world of watchmaking, Seychelles is to the world of crypto exchanges.

The small island nation with a total population of less than 100,000, presents a perfect playground for the enterprises that are looking for a place that allows them to optimize their tax liabilities with regulators who operate with a light touch.

U.S. comes in second

The report by Crystal Blockchain examined flows of Bitcoin between exchanges around the world. Seychelles exchanges led in terms of both funds sent and received.

International Flow of Bitcoins. Source. Crystal

It should be noted that the report considers Binance (BNB) to be a Seychelles exchange. In 2019, 12 local exchanges received $15.83 billion worth BTC from foreign exchanges and sent $20.83 billion worth of BTC. The 25 U.S.-based exchanges took the silver with $18 billion total cross-border turnover.

Seychelles-EU leads the way

The most active international trade routes are Seychelles — EU, Seychelles — US, and Seychelles — South Korea, each connection producing volumes in excess of $2 billion.

As regulators around the world move to tighten control over digital assets, it will be interesting to watch what effect it will have on the world of crypto exchanges. Whether more trading will migrate to the jurisdictions that offer better investor protections or perhaps, the opposite happening as a form of protest against the governments’ overreach.