UAE climbs to second place in global crypto rankings with perfect tax score
The UAE has risen from fifth to second in the Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2026, scoring 10 out of 10 for tax friendliness and positioning itself behind only Singapore as a leading jurisdiction for digital assets.
Layla Haddad
UAE climbs to second place in global crypto rankings with perfect tax score
The UAE has advanced three positions to claim second place in a global ranking of crypto-friendly jurisdictions, achieving a maximum score for tax friendliness while trailing only Singapore in the overall assessment.
The country scored 46.4 out of 60 in the Henley Crypto Adoption Index 2026, compared with Singapore's 47.1 and Hong Kong's 46.2, placing it ahead of the United States and Switzerland in the expanded ranking of 36 countries.
Henley & Partners awarded the UAE a perfect 10 out of 10 for tax friendliness, noting the absence of taxes on cryptocurrency trading, staking or mining activities.
The assessment comes as Henley estimates 135,694 individuals worldwide hold cryptocurrency assets worth at least $1 million, while the global cryptocurrency market stood at approximately $2.7 trillion in August 2026, with Bitcoin representing between 57 and 59 percent of total market value.
Expanded competition field
The 2026 index grew from 29 countries assessed in 2025 to 36 jurisdictions, introducing new entrants including The Bahamas in 10th place, the Cayman Islands in 12th, Bahrain in 13th, Argentina in 26th, the Maldives in 31st, and Paraguay in 35th position.
The UAE's advancement from fifth place in the previous year reflects strengthening performance across multiple categories within this expanding competitive landscape.
Scoring breakdown
The index evaluates countries across six categories, each scored out of 10 before being combined into a total score out of 60. The UAE received 7.6 for public adoption, 4.6 for infrastructure adoption, 8.9 for innovation and technology, 7.3 for its regulatory environment, 8.0 for economic factors and the maximum 10 for tax friendliness.
Henley highlighted the UAE's layered approach to digital asset regulation, including dedicated virtual asset oversight in Dubai, a separate cryptocurrency framework within the Dubai International Financial Centre, and established regimes in other financial centres across the country.
The assessment noted recently updated rules covering exchanges, custody and token issuance, alongside the Digital Dirham central bank digital currency initiative and favorable personal taxation policies.
Regulatory framework development
Dubai established its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in March 2022 under Dubai Law No. 4 of 2022, making the emirate one of the first jurisdictions globally to create a standalone regulator focused exclusively on virtual assets. VARA subsequently published its Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations in February 2023, applying to all virtual asset service providers operating in Dubai outside the DIFC.
The Digital Dirham, announced by the Central Bank of the UAE in March 2025 for launch in the fourth quarter of that year, is designed as legal tender and connects to the mBridge multi-CBDC network, enabling instant cross-border settlement in central bank money between participating central banks across multiple jurisdictions.
Top rankings
Singapore retained first place for a fourth consecutive year and holds the highest innovation and technology score overall among all ranked jurisdictions. Singapore's Monetary Authority regulates cryptocurrency under the Payment Services Act and announced at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2025 that draft stablecoin legislation would be published in 2026, prioritizing full reserve backing with high-quality liquid assets.
Hong Kong ranked third in the assessment. The United States finished fourth with a score of 43.7 and was the only jurisdiction to receive a perfect 10 for public adoption, while Switzerland ranked fifth with 43.4 points.
Malta placed sixth, followed by Thailand, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and The Bahamas completing the top ten.
Wealth mobility ranking
In a separate wealth mobility competitiveness measure, Henley ranked the UAE first with a score of 85.3 out of 100. Singapore followed at 79.5, New Zealand at 75.8, the Cayman Islands at 74.3 and Cyprus at 73.5.
Global crypto wealth estimates
Henley estimates that 135,694 individuals worldwide hold at least $1 million in cryptocurrency, including 92,272 Bitcoin millionaires. The research suggests another 290 people hold at least $100 million in digital assets, while 23 individuals qualify as crypto billionaires worldwide, including nine Bitcoin billionaires.
Bitcoin accounted for $1.6 trillion of the total cryptocurrency market as of August 31, 2026.
Henley introduced a revised methodology for its crypto wealth estimates in the 2026 report, using public blockchain and market data with adjustments designed to estimate individual holders rather than simply counting cryptocurrency addresses. The estimate of 92,272 Bitcoin millionaires carries a range between 74,000 and 114,000, while the broader estimate of 135,694 crypto millionaires has a range between 132,000 and 154,000.
The methodology change means 2026 figures cannot be directly compared with earlier reports, and no year-on-year growth rate for the number of crypto millionaires was calculated for this edition.
