Citizenship and Passport Updates

By Jean-Marie Mognetti,   The year 2024 is poised to be a landmark year for the cryptocurrency industry. With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granting approval for Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), the institutionalization of the asset class has reached a pivotal milestone. This approval is not just a regulatory endorsement; it signifies the maturation of Bitcoin as a legitimate investment vehicle, suitable for inclusion in the portfolios of traditional investors. This move by the SEC is expected to usher in a new era of mainstream acceptance and integration of cryptocurrencies into the global financial system. During the early phases, Bitcoin was not yet recognized as a distinct financial asset. The ecosystem lacked essential infrastructure — there were no custody solutions, regulated exchanges, or trading platforms, and the banking sector largely refused to engage with Bitcoin businesses. The absence of public companies in the cryptocurrency sector further highlighted…

In many circles, it is presupposed that investors are trying to avoid as much tax as possible on the crypto wealth they’ve amassed or the crypto trading they do to generate a livelihood. And that, in turn, raises lots of eyebrows globally because it makes crypto seem like an investment focused on tax evasion. And that’s a very myopic view. The reality is that countries all over the world — some aggressively — are touting their local tax regimes that tread lightly on crypto profits and crypto trading. By my count, at least 21 countries impose a 0% tax rate on crypto. Others offer relatively low crypto taxation, such as Cyprus, with a 12.5% tax on crypto profits, or Montenegro (soon to join the European Union and where Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently gained citizenship), with its 9% tax rate on crypto. As such, the question that guy in Dubai…