Mercuryo has already expanded into South-East Asia, throughout the EU and Africa – securing partnerships in the USA was the next logical step in growth for us.

Every Friday, Mercurians gather on Zoom for a presentation. It could be a colleague speaking about the latest updates in their department or an external expert on the day’s topic.

Our United States Country Executive Director, Brian Kruse, recently walked us through hiring in web3, the US crypto landscape, the challenges faced, the 2022 roadmap for our US development, and more.

Why the United States?

Globally, businesses are trying to understand and mitigate the hurdles that such a nascent industry faces. With regulations just beginning to sprout and governments starting to get their head around the tech – fintech, crypto, and DeFi companies need to tread carefully.

When a company is doing well, it’s crucial to keep momentum. Mercuryo has already expanded into South-East Asia, throughout the EU and Africa – securing partnerships in the USA was the next logical step in growth for us.

Recent reports have stated countries with the most registered cryptocurrency exchanges are the UK, Singapore, the US, and Seychelles. As of Dec 2021, the US crypto market was the most significant transaction corridor globally, having received over $69 billion in crypto, and sent over $40 billion. With this in mind, it’s time for Mercuryo to get involved in the USA!

Numbers Played a Role in Decision Making*

*±five months old

• 84% of Americans are aware of crypto

• An estimated 27 million Americans, 8.3% of the population, own crypto

While in the EU:

• 3.3 million people, 4.9% of the UK population, own crypto

• 2.1 million people, 3.3% of France pop own crypto

• 2.1 million, 2.6% of German pop own crypto

By the end of 2022, it’s believed the number of American adults who hold crypto will climb to 19% or 33.7 million citizens. The largest ownership group are aged 25 to 34, and as the crypto wave grows – more and more people are getting involved.

Many tech companies worldwide and in the US, have started hiring freezes and laying off employees. However, there are still over 10,000 open jobs in the USA in the cryptocurrency sector on LinkedIn, with the majority being engineering, law and finance positions.

The need for talent clearly highlights crypto isn’t going anywhere, even in the current market conditions.

Challenges to Business Development in the USA

While the European Union has been quick to the draw regarding regulations and is in line with what’s going on in the DeFi world, the US government is far more cautious.

Each of the 50 states operates independently with its own rules and regulations. This means different individual requirements such as the money transfer licence (MTL) and separate taxation policies governing businesses.

And even if one finds a state that can offer everything they need to open a crypto-orientated company, it may be an issue on a federal level.

The Six Friendliest Crypto States

Crypto & US market

The 2022 USA Roadmap

While we have our legal and business entities up and running, we still have a ways to go. Mercuryo wants to stay as compliant as possible and do everything by the book, so it will take time.

The primary rationale and information we’re looking for when selecting where our small office will be is the state regulator’s taxations. We have consulted with one of the big four advisory firms, and the critical detail will be how the state taxes Mercuryo.

The above is more critical than any data we collect, as each state is different. There are substantial tax breaks in Wyoming and Nebraska for crypto companies specifically, while California is one of the heaviest taxed states in the country. The decision can have a financial impact of millions of dollars and cannot be made lightly.

Setting up our Headquarters

We are currently looking at where to set up our American HQ, with Miami being a top contender. The mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, is collecting his wages in Bitcoin and wants to make Miami a crypto hub. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has proposed the state start accepting payment in crypto for certain state taxes.

Some of our team has even had a chance to visit Miami during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference! Mercuryo had a large booth, and 11 Mercurians from all over the world attended. The conference had over 35,000 attendees from across the globe – a testament to how fast crypto is becoming accepted. Taking part in the event validated where the interest is, with so many businesses open to accepting crypto.

It’s also crucial for Mercuryo to build out the US team, and make our presence in the US known. If you’d like to join Brian and Mercuryo, and grow our presence globally, we’re hiring for the following positions:

–Product Manager

–PR and Events Manager

–Sales Associate

–HR Manager

–Devops