As an American, newer trader who got started in crypto and is starting to learn and trade in other markets, I am considering establishing residency elsewhere. The regulatory regime here is a headache, and it will likely only become more difficult.
So, where? Are there any countries, not called the US, particularly conducive to trading as an expat?
The short answer to your question is:
No, there are no jurisdictions anywhere in the world that can be considered “conducive” to trading for an American expat.
Relocating to a foreign country and establishing legal residency there is not the problem.
Money transfer to and from the US is problem #1, and opening a bank account in your new country of residency is problem #2.
If (1) you can’t move your US funds directly to an offshore broker, and (2) you can’t move your US funds to a foreign bank, you can’t readily fund a trading account in your new country, regardless of whether brokers in your new country welcome American expats.
I invite you to check out this thread – Going offshore to escape the CFTC
Most of the participants in our Offshore Broker thread are not expats – rather, we are US residents, attempting to trade peacefully with offshore brokers who offer us better trading conditions than the two (count 'em, two) US brokers we have available here.
The CFTC – the Nanny Regulator of Commodities and Forex – is intent on cutting off our access to offshore brokers, as part of their larger goal of completely destroying over-the-counter (off-exchange) forex trading, first in the US and then worldwide.
For the past two years, or so, the CFTC’s primary tactic in this war has been to attack the money transfer pathways between US traders and offshore banks and brokers. You can read quite a lot about this in our thread.
You might be especially interested in what two of our members have to say about establishing financial accounts in foreign countries –
The member who uses the screen-name MrInvisible is one who does have first-hand experience with the sort of expat issues you are inquiring about. Maybe he will chime in here with some information you can use.
Yes it would seem that trading in EU and assie isn’t an option unless maybe you have a highly trusted family member with a citizenship there, or you have 5 ro 10 million for their ECP…
That being said…most offshore exchanges are happy to take ANYONE from ANYWHERE except america lol. So if you can just stick to south american and asian exchanges, residencies, etc, and are willing to set up a physical or virtual but real office there of sorts, generate some economic acitivity and cash flow with a side business for tax and residency purposes, rent out a condo or something, then theres that which should smooth the process for a bank account.
Though the process of having shell companies and resident local managers with attourny privileges gets ultra complicated legally, I think if done right is worth it.
I think it depends on the nominee signator or owner of the bank account sort of ruining the plan because of the american origin at least if the asian or latin forex company were to site that as a basis of rejection, but
a) if the exchange is ok with legal residency for the american, and its legal in that jurisdiction outside us/eu
b) not linking a bank account as a funding method
could keep it to just kycing the legal trading IBC, which would be either you or your director.
The european crypto exchanges I have in mind do not require ECP yet or they haven’t fallen under the purvey of it, but they would simply want to kyc a person, in which case you would have these legal backfalls to get your funds back from the exchange. It would work for Bitmex, namely (though I don’t really recommend bitmex anymore).