Blooming landscapes? Germany ranks 9th in the crypto ranking

According to the new “Crypto-ready Index”, Germany is one of the top nations when it comes to crypto adoption. But how deserved are these laurels?

Which is the world’s most crypto-friendly nation? The Australian crypto portal Crypto Headn has dealt with this question in a new study. The result is the “Crypto-Ready Index”, which lists countries according to their willingness to adopt crypto. Crypto Head uses the number of crypto ATMs, the annual Google search volume for crypto terms such as Bitcoin and the status of crypto regulation and taxation as a basis for evaluation. In total, Crypto Head has tried to measure the crypto fever in Germany and 199 nations and territories.


Germany with top 10 placement despite crypto ATM poverty

The US then tops the list of the most crypto-friendly nations – followed by Cyprus and Singapore. Germany occupies a solid 9th place. And that although Bitcoin ATMs are a comparatively rare sight in this country. The study counts 53 crypto ATMs for Germany. In the US there are now a staggering 17,436.

Crypto-Ready Index (top 10). Evaluation criteria of l. after r .: annual crypto Google searches per 100,000 people, the annual increase in the same, number of crypto ATMs, number of citizens per crypto ATM, area per crypto ATM (mi2), Regulation and taxation (max. 2 points). Source: Crypto Head

Why Germany is so high despite the few crypto ATMs is a mystery. If you sort the countries according to the individual evaluation criteria, the Federal Republic does not occupy a top 10 position in almost any category. The only exception: the regulation in which Germany and 39 other countries achieve the maximum number of points of 2. The informative value of the “Crypto-Ready Index” should therefore be treated with caution.

This also applies to the method by which the individual’s crypto regulation was assessed. The authors of the study only used Wikipedia (specifically: this article) as a data source.


Crypto Mecca Germany?

Even if the good ranking of Germany measured against the criteria of Crypto Head is questionable, it cannot be denied that crypto regulation in this country has made significant progress in recent years. The crypto custody law, which came into force in 2020, is one of the greatest achievements. The “Law on the Introduction of Electronic Securities” (eWpG) passed in May is also considered progressive; after all, it enables securities to be issued for the first time without a physical certificate. The register for crypto-securities that was introduced in this way puts digitally securitized securities such as security tokens on a par with their paper counterparts.

The new Fund Location Act is also not without delicacies for crypto-affine (large) investors. From August 1st, it should be possible for institutional special funds to invest up to 20 percent of their capital in cryptocurrencies – a further legitimation for Bitcoin and Co.

Blooming blockchain landscape in danger?

Against this background, Germany does indeed seem to be forming a promising breeding ground for the crypto-economy. Its good placement in the Crypto-Ready Index is justified in this respect – even if it remains nebulous, as Germany made it to 9th place based on the criteria used.

But despite the regulatory advances, a flourishing blockchain landscape is not a foregone conclusion in Germany. Because with the bill for the taxation of crypto assets, the Federal Ministry of Finance has, in the opinion of many observers, taken a large pot of salt from the inside, which is now threatening to ruin the breeding ground that has been prepared by the above-mentioned changes in the law.