Britain should ask crypto founders what would have kept them here

When Praneet Sinha moved his crypto startup Moongate from Britain to the UAE, operational and financial efficiency were key factors. The business planned to collect fees in crypto, which required converting revenue into fiat to pay salaries and running costs—a process made easier in Ras Al Khaimah's Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO).

Sinha's experience reflects a broader trend: between 2021 and 2025, Britain lost a net 507,000 of its own nationals, with 136,000 leaving in 2025 alone. While these figures cover all sectors, the crypto industry appears disproportionately affected by this exodus.

Regulatory Push Factors

The UK's regulatory environment for crypto businesses has become a significant push factor. Sinha explicitly stated that RAK DAO offered "a more crypto-friendly environment and tax advantages, particularly around converting crypto revenue into fiat to fund our operating expenses." His UK company was dissolved in July 2025 before being acquired by MoonPay in June 2026.

Another founder, Arun Krishnakumar, who has lived in Britain for 21 years and studied at LSE and Oxford, plans to move to the US. He cites American capital, culture and regulation as superior to the UK environment, noting he was constantly told that "if you were doing this in Silicon Valley, you would be in a much better place."

Capital Follows Talent

The exodus of crypto entrepreneurs is paralleled by the movement of investment capital. In January 2025, a16z scaled back its UK presence to refocus on the US, less than two years after choosing London for its first office outside the US. This suggests a correlation between where talent goes and where venture capital follows.

The official data on why British citizens leave remains limited. The ONS admits it cannot carry out high-quality surveys overseas or access administrative data from foreign governments. The Migration Observatory similarly states that "relatively little is known about which British citizens leave the UK, or the reasons why."

Mapping the Exodus

To address this knowledge gap, Superteam UK launched the Brain Drain Wall, which received 576 submissions between July and October 2026. Of these, 32 percent plan to leave Britain, while 7 percent have already left. Among the 226 who are leaving or have left, the most common reasons were quality of life (25.2 percent), tax environment (24.3 percent), job opportunities (20.4 percent) and capital access (12.4 percent).

Tax and capital together account for about 36.7 percent of reasons for leaving—more than quality of life alone. In contrast, among those staying, nearly half (48.9 percent) cited family and relationships as their primary reason.

When asked if the UK had matched what RAK DAO offered, whether he would have kept Moongate in London, Sinha responded: "Yes, it was another hassle to set up a company in a different country." This direct feedback highlights the potential policy changes that could help reverse the brain drain.