According to a recent report by crypto intelligence provider K33 Research, China is home to 15% of Asia's crypto workforce, making it one of the largest crypto hubs on the continent. This is despite China's comprehensive ban on crypto trading and mining.

Singapore and Hong Kong lead the way with approximately 35% of crypto employees based there, followed by India with 20%. The global crypto industry is valued at $180 billion, with over 190,000 employees across 10,000 companies. Interestingly, the report notes that the industry's valuation would have been significantly higher if measured during the bull market in 2021.

The report's findings are surprising given China's hostile stance towards crypto, which it first aimed in 2013 with a ban on local banks facilitating Bitcoin-related transactions. The country later outlawed initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cracked down on crypto mining in 2019, labeling the market "undesirable." In 2021, the government completely banned crypto mining and trading activities. Despite this, China was the second-largest crypto mining market in the world in 2022, after the US.

The US remains the leading crypto jurisdiction, but only 29% of global crypto employees are based there. North America has the largest number of employees with 60,700, while South America has around 8,400. In contrast to China, Hong Kong has adopted an opposite approach to regulating crypto and has made several efforts in recent months to become a regional Web3 and digital hub.