Where to Incorporate
Every jurisdiction is a trade-off between tax, privacy, cost, and credibility. These overviews cut to what actually decides the choice - founder-first, no law-firm fog.
Caribbean & Offshore
British Virgin Islands
The default offshore flag: fast incorporation, zero local tax, respected by exchanges and law firms. Judge it on friction, stability, tax, law, and privacy before you commit.
Cayman Islands
The prestige offshore flag - zero tax, English law, deepest counsel bench - at roughly double BVI's fees. Great above $100M in fund AUM; a poor place to issue a token.
Panama
The offshore world's privacy maximalist: no public registers, bearer shares still permitted, territorial tax. The asterisks are reputational - FATF Grey List history and an EU listing.
The Bahamas
Common law, US-adjacent, cheaper to run than most offshores - and light on reporting. The catch: brutal customs tariffs on physical goods, and a history of tightening under EU pressure.
Americas
Delaware
America's incorporation capital, built on the weight of its case law - predictability investors price in. 8.7% corporate tax, no sales tax, strong (but time-limited) privacy.
Wyoming
0% corporate tax, the strongest US privacy defaults, and crypto-native entity types (DAO LLC, DUNA). Offshore economics without an offshore address - at the cost of US regulatory reach.
Europe
Asia
Hong Kong
The only piece of China on English common law: a gateway to the mainland with territorial tax and English-language courts. More expensive to run, with a heavier admin load.
Singapore
A 17% rate exemptions push toward zero, no capital gains tax, 90+ treaties - traded for a rigorous, MAS-supervised compliance culture that manufactures institutional credibility.