Cryptocurrency companies may leave the U.S. for green spots

While most of the world's largest criptocurrency companies are based in the U.S., investors may be hoping that their investments will go to the moon.

Some industry participants warn that too-harsh regulatory scrutiny will spur some companies to abandon the U.S. for regulatorily greener pastures.

According to a report from research firm Crypto Head, 28 of the top 50 companies are based on valuations in the U.S.

Coinbase is the largest exchange and financial platform in the U.S., while Robinhood is a traditional brokerage that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. As of Tuesday s close, FactSet data shows that Robinhood has a market value of around $12.4 billion and Coinbase is close to $48 billion.

The industry of criptocurrencies has grown and attracted more attention from the U.S. regulators. In November, President Joe Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would require brokers of digital assets to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service starting next year.

The Biden administration called on Congress to pass legislation that would require stable coins, digital assets pegged to fiat currencies such as the dollar DXY, or euro, to be issued by insured banks.

After the Securities and Exchange Commission threatened to thwart such a move, Coinbase Global dropped its plan in September to launch a program that would allow users to earn interest by depositing cryptocurrencies.

In September, Anatoly Yakovenko, founder and CEO of Solana SOLUSD, told SkyBridge Alternatives Conference that if compliance costs become too high in the U.S. it will hinder innovation. The risks aren't that these products are not going to get built. Yakovenko said something. It is sad for me to see that they are going to get built elsewhere. I just want all this stuff to happen here in the U.S. Cryptocurrencies watchers highlighted the situation in China, where several companies moved their headquarters out of the country because of Beijing's ban on criptocurrencies. Gary Gensler, SEC chairman, said the U.S. does not plan to ban cryptocurrencies outright but rather believes that regulation is prudent to protect prospective and extant investors.

Binance, the largest platform in the world by trading volume, isn't publicly traded and has said it isn't based anywhere, preferring to establish several global hubs.

According to Bloomberg, officials at Binance, founded in Beijing in 2017, said it is in talks with regulators in the United Arab Emirates about a potential headquarters.

According to Crypto Head's report FTX, the fourth most valued company with a $25 billion valuation, moved its base from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in September 2021 for a more friendly regulatory environment.

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