Report contents
Europe · Established
Ireland
Crypto Livability Index 2025·data to 31 Dec 2025
Scoreboard
Five pillars, then the 22 sub-pillars scored 0 to 4. Empty sub-scores are held out of the total, not zeroed.
The number behind the rank
| Raw capability score | 57 / 84 |
| P2P liquidity bonus (tie-breaker) | +0 |
| Inflation 3.6% · unbanked 2% · remittances 0.1% GDP · capital controls 0 · sanctions 0 | CNI 0.019 |
| Need multiplier | ×0.528 |
| Livability score | 0.358 |
Raw 57/84 = 0.679 capability. Crypto-Necessity Index 0.02, from five components: inflation 3.6% (three-year average 2023 to 2025), unbanked 2% of adults, remittances 0.1% of GDP, capital-control intensity 0.00 (KAOPEN 2023), sanctions exposure 0. Need multiplier ×0.53. Livability score 0.358, rank #57 of 79.
Three findings
Europe's crypto licensing gateway, where locals say nobody actually pays in crypto
Dublin hosts Coinbase's EU headquarters, the primary USDC distribution channel for Europe, and the Central Bank of Ireland granted Kraken the first full MiCA licence held by a major global exchange in June 2025. Yet the country's own community tracker reports that crypto acceptance is "relatively rare," with merchant adoption scored at 2 and the grassroots peer-to-peer (person-to-person) market at a bonus of 0.
A 33% flat tax on every disposal, and not one crypto ATM
Ireland levies a flat 33% capital gains tax with no holding relief and only a 1,270-euro annual exemption, the lowest tax sub-score in the European set at 1. It registers no active crypto ATMs as of the cutoff, an absolute floor on access density. The full 6 of 6 utility-bill score rests entirely on the Monerium EURe-to-SEPA bridge, not on any Irish utility accepting crypto.
Strong capability, almost no need, hence the 24-place slide
Ireland scores 57 of 84 in raw capability but a Crypto-Necessity Index of just 0.02, among the lowest measured: inflation 3.6%, 2% unbanked, remittances 0.1% of GDP, no capital controls, no sanctions. The ×0.53 need multiplier drops it from rails #33 to livability #57. This is the index working as designed, not a defect: a corporate finance hub where crypto is institutional, not personal.
In one line
"Ireland licenses the exchanges that serve a continent, then taxes its own residents a flat third on every trade. The headquarters are here; the need is somewhere else."
Watch in 2026
Trajectory 3/4, trending liberalising. The Central Bank of Ireland designated itself sole MiCA (the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation) supervisor under Statutory Instrument 607/2024, opened its VASP (virtual asset service provider) authorisation pipeline, and licensed Kraken in June 2025, making Dublin a launchpad for continent-wide products. The 12-month transition closed at the cutoff, with the bulk of authorisations still mid-rollout.