Crypto exchanges registered in offshore locations are 70% of top 30

Out of the top 30 crypto exchanges, 70%, or 21, are located in offshore financial centers, according to CoinGecko’s recent report.

The report defines offshore financial centers as “territories that seek to attract financial activities from abroad, through flexible regulations and low or zero-taxation schemes. ” Based on that definition, the most popular offshore financial centers for crypto exchanges are Seychelles, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

Worldwide distribution

The top 30 largest crypto exchanges are distributed across 15 countries, according to the report. They are corresponding to 37%, and 11 out of 30 exchanges are located in North America – with four incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, three in the Cayman Islands, and two in the U.S.

When the distribution is evaluated on a country basis, Hong Kong emerges as the country that hosts the most crypto exchanges. Out of 30 major exchanges, six of them are incorporated in Hong Kong, which accounts for 20% of the whole.

Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands follow Hong Kong as the second and third by hosting five and four exchanges, respectively. On the other hand, Seychelles is home to three large exchanges – OKX, KuCoin, and MEXC Global.