Vancouver is a hub for early adopters of cryptocurrency.

Vancouver is the only Canadian city in our final ranking of crypto hubs. It scored high in per-capita opportunity measures, including crypto jobs, companies, and events, as well as quality of life, in our enabler category. However, like the US, Canada’s crypto regulatory structure score was average, sitting at three out of a maximum score of five. The regulatory criteria, which is part of the drivers category, is the most heavily weighted at 35% of the total score. Another drivers criteria, the crypto adoption score, was also average. This pulled Vancouver down to 13th place overall.

For more information on the criteria and how we weighted them, see: How We Ranked blockchain’s Crypto Hubs 2023: Our Methodology.

Despite its small size, Vancouver is attractive as a tech and crypto hub. The city is one of the world’s most livable cities and a hot spot for early crypto adoption. It is home to the world’s first bitcoin ATM, installed in 2013 by Robocoin, as well as CryptoKitties developer Dapper Labs and some miners, including Hive Blockchain (HIVE).

• Ranked blockchain’s Crypto Hubs 2023 Methodology.
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Vancouver saw the biggest growth in high-tech jobs in 2020 and 2021 compared to any other city in North America, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. This is likely due to its relatively low tax rates, world-class amenities, and diverse population. Its geographical proximity to Microsoft’s hometown of Seattle, Washington, and stunning natural beauty does not hurt either.

Read Crypto Hubs 2023: Where to Live Freely and Work Smart

Crypto natives will find signs of grassroots adoption of Web3 and crypto throughout the city. Vancouver is also home to at least three bitcoin and one Ethereum meetups, said members of a 200-member Telegram group chat related to a broader crypto meetup.

“Vancouver has greater access to the Asia Pacific hubs and networks and seems to act as a launchpad for other jurisdictions, but works in coordination with Toronto to some degree,” said Al Leong, a chief marketing officer and board member for Web 3 companies who spends several months out of the year in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, Canada – and therefore Vancouver – scored relatively low in two criteria that carried heavy weight in our ranking: the structure of each locale’s crypto regulations and grassroots adoption of crypto. In May, Binance announced that it would cease operations in Canada, citing the challenging regulatory environment. Regulators in Canada tightened rules for crypto operators in February, leading to the high-profile exits of two other major crypto exchanges Bybit and OKX, as well as crypto firms Blockchain.com and Paxos.

This has left space for competitors like US-based Kraken to gain market share and help contribute to shaping future regulations. Kraken’s Managing Director for Canada Mark Greenberg said he appreciated the attention given to users’ security in the country’s policy mandates, but argued the limits on trading offerings makes it difficult to find areas to expand into.

Read more: Canadian Crypto Trading Platforms Face ‘Enhanced’ Rules Under New Regulations

Meanwhile, Canada’s tax authority says it is ” updating ” tax rules for crypto, giving little details on what that means. British Columbia, Vancouver’s province, imposed an 18-month moratorium on new mining operations in December 2022, citing the increased demand for energy.

The sword of Damocles

Blockchain’s Crypto Hubs 2023 placed a heavy weight on the structure of each locale’s crypto regulations and grassroots adoption of crypto. Unfortunately, these were two criteria where Canada – and therefore Vancouver – scored relatively low. Indeed, in May Binance announced that it would cease operations in the nation, citing the challenging regulatory environment.

“We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry,” the company announced. “Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time.”

Regulators in Canada tightened rules for crypto operators in February, leading to the high-profile exits of two other major crypto exchanges Bybit and OKX, as well as crypto firms Blockchain.com and Paxos.

This has left space for competitors like U.S.-based Kraken to gain market share and help contribute to shaping future regulations. Kraken’s Managing Director for Canada Mark Greenberg said he appreciated the attention given to users’ security in the country’s policy mandates, but argued the limits on trading offerings makes it difficult to find areas to expand into.

Read more: Canadian Crypto Trading Platforms Face ‘Enhanced’ Rules Under New Regulations

Meanwhile, Canada’s tax authority says it is ” updating ” tax rules for crypto, giving little details on what that means. British Columbia, Vancouver’s province, imposed an 18-month moratorium on new mining operations in December 2022, citing the increased demand for energy.

Despite the policy changes affecting businesses throughout the country, it is probable that Canada’s counterpart to Silicon Valley will maintain its crucial role in the advancement of this technology.

Edited by Jeanhee Kim and Bradley Keoun.