New research reveals Top 10 most ‘crypto-ready’ states

New research reveals how every state in the U.S. fares in terms of being “crypto-ready”. 

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency sometimes called crypto-currency or crypto, refers to digital or virtual currency that utilizes cryptographic techniques for secure transactions. It exists solely in electronic form, independent of any central authority, and operates on decentralized networks, such as blockchain technology.

Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that doesn’t rely on banks to verify transactions. It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments.  ~  Kaspersky

Lowest fee crypto exchange ChicksX identified the states that are best positioned to embrace crypto by creating a Crypto Readiness Index that scored each out of 10 based on six factors, which included each state’s crypto regulations, public interest in crypto, and crypto infrastructure.

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Florida scored best for crypto-readiness with a perfect score of 10 out of 10. The Sunshine State has 17 crypto-related events listed on eventbrite.com, the fifth best nationally, and 12.6 crypto ATMs per 100,000 residents, the third best, as well as 160.4 crypto-related searches per 100,000 people, ranking eighth best for this.

Florida’s legislature has already introduced specific laws on cryptocurrency and blockchain, alongside the next 10 states in the ranking, which gives people a good understanding of how they can work with crypto.

Nevada is the second most prepared state to embrace crypto, with a score of 9.69 out of 10. The Silver State scored well with 13.8 crypto ATMs per 100,000 residents, the second highest density in America, and 179.8 crypto-related searches per 100,000 people, ranking fifth highest nationally for this factor.

Texas is the third best poised to thrive with crypto, with a score of 9.25 out of 10. The Lone Star state boasts the fourth highest number of crypto events at 21, and the sixth best rate of crypto ATMs, at 11.4 per 100,000 residents.

Colorado is fourth, with a score of 9.09 out of 10. Colorado scored best for its 108 crypto events.

Illinois completes the top five, with a score of 8.63 out of 10. The Prairie State scored best for its 10.8 crypto ATMs per 100,000 residents, America’s eighth best.

Georgia ranks twelfth, with a score of 7.18 out of 10. The Peach State had the eighth highest number of crypto events and the ninth highest number of crypto companies.

California is only thirteenth in crypto-readiness, scoring 7.05 out of 10. Despite having the most crypto companies and the second highest number of crypto events and searches per 100,000 residents, the Golden State loses out on its crypto tax policies and low rates of crypto ATMs per 100,000 residents.

New York is twenty-seventh. It’s relatively low score of 5.73 out of 10 stems from the lowest number of crypto ATMs per 100,000 and its crypto tax policies. However, the Empire State boasts the highest number of searches per 100,000, second highest number of crypto companies, and third highest number of crypto events.

Minnesota is the state least ready to embrace crypto, scoring 0 out of 10. The North Star State scored poorly because it lacks blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations and treats cryptocurrency as a cash equivalent for tax purposes, which creates uncertainty and can complicate tax reporting for crypto users.

Kentucky is second from bottom, scoring 1.53 out of 10. Treating cryptocurrency as a cash equivalent for tax purposes hurt the Bluegrass State’s score the most, in addition to Kentucky’s low search interest and having just one crypto company.

Wisconsin is the third least ready, with a score of 1.93 out of 10. A lack of crypto regulations and treating crypto as a cash equivalent for tax purposes significantly lowered this score.

Kansas and Mississippi complete the five least crypto-ready states with scores of 2.82 and 3.71 out of 10, respectively. Both states suffered from a lack of crypto legislation. 

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Al Alof, CEO of ChicksX, commented on the findings,

“Crypto has rapidly become a huge industry that only looks to increase in size over the next few years. It holds great promise for business owners and consumers alike, with many people expecting even greater adoption in everyday life as more organizations adopt crypto as a form of payment.

“This adoption requires good public interest and crypto infrastructure to be successful. In addition, lawmakers need to provide a clear framework for crypto users to operate within. This pushed us to look at which states perform best in these metrics, finding that Florida is the most crypto-ready, while Minnesota is the least crypto-ready.

“With how lucrative crypto can be, we expect to see more states implementing crypto-friendly policies to attract crypto businesses and users as crypto adoption increases.”

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States ranked by how ready they are to embrace crypto

	State	Number of crypto events	Number of crypto companies	Crypto regulation score (out of 8)	Crypto tax score (lower is better)	Crypto ATMs per 100,000 residents	Crypto Searches per 100,000 residents	Crypto Readiness Index score (out of 10)
1.	Florida	17	29	8	0	12.6	160.4	10.00
2.	Nevada	4	9	8	0	13.8	179.8	9.69
3.	Texas	21	12	8	0	11.4	136.5	9.25
4.	Colorado	108	4	8	0	9.0	134.5	9.09
5.	Illinois	5	14	8	0	10.8	151.6	8.63
6.	Washington	12	11	8	0	6.2	167.0	8.33
7.	North Carolina	7	0	8	0	9.4	126.7	8.21
8.	Tennessee	3	0	8	0	10.5	114.1	7.78
9.	Arizona	7	4	8	0	7.9	144.1	7.59
10.	Ohio	3	0	8	0	8.6	117.0	7.41
11.	Iowa	3	0	8	0	9.7	103.5	7.35
12.	Georgia	9	5	3	0	10.0	145.9	7.18
13.	California	47	70	8	1	5.5	194.5	7.05
14.	Nebraska	3	0	8	0	8.4	100.8	7.01
15.	Maryland	1	2	8	0	12.2	140.5	6.94
16.	Hawaii	2	0	3	0	6.4	185.6	6.74
17.	South Carolina	2	0	5	0	9.5	109.3	6.68
18.	Utah	3	4	8	0	6.4	121.9	6.51
19.	South Dakota	0	0	8	0	8.8	96.6	6.42
20.	North Dakota	0	0	5	0	5.6	150.8	6.38
21.	Rhode Island	1	0	3	0	10.2	130.8	6.29
22.	Wyoming	0	0	8	0	7.1	99.2	6.17
23.	New Hampshire	0	0	3	0	10.1	124.4	6.17
24.	Alaska	0	0	3	0	8.2	142.6	6.07
25.	New Mexico	4	0	3	0	8.4	101.1	6.02
26.	Massachusetts	7	6	0	0	9.1	154.5	5.76
27.	New York	28	67	3	1	0.0	237.8	5.73
28.	Maine	1	0	3	0	8.6	117.4	5.69
29.	Michigan	4	0	8	1	10.6	121.3	5.66
30.	Vermont	0	0	8	0	0.5	101.0	5.61
31.	West Virginia	0	0	8	0	5.1	86.7	5.56
32.	Arkansas	1	0	5	0	7.4	93.9	5.53
33.	New Jersey	3	4	8	1	10.3	163.0	5.51
34.	Idaho	2	0	3	0	6.6	108.4	5.50
35.	Delaware	1	1	5	0	14.4	117.7	5.41
36.	Indiana	1	2	3	0	12.3	108.4	5.19
37.	Oklahoma	0	2	5	0	9.4	100.1	4.86
38.	Pennsylvania	3	3	0	0	10.9	124.1	4.82
39.	Connecticut	1	1	8	0	8.2	144.2	4.80
40.	Alabama	2	2	3	0	9.5	106.6	4.79
41.	Montana	0	0	3	0	5.5	97.2	4.72
42.	Louisiana	2	2	3	0	8.2	100.1	4.38
43.	Virginia	3	1	3	0	8.3	152.2	4.37
44.	Oregon	3	1	3	0	7.9	142.7	4.13
45.	Missouri	7	2	0	0	9.1	107.8	4.09
46.	Mississippi	0	0	0	0	9.1	84.2	3.71
47.	Kansas	0	1	5	1	10.4	182.1	2.82
48.	Wisconsin	1	0	0	1	9.6	107.0	1.93
49.	Kentucky	0	1	8	1	9.0	95.0	1.53
50.	Minnesota	4	1	0	1	4.8	138.5	0.00

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Crypto regulation in each state

State	Blockchain Regulation	Cryptocurrency Regulation	Crypto Tax Law
Alabama	No	Yes	No Guidance
Alaska	No	Yes	No Tax
Arizona	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Arkansas	Yes	No	Nontaxable
California	Yes	Yes	Cash Equivalent
Colorado	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Delaware	Yes	No	No Tax
Florida	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Georgia	No	Yes	No Guidance
Hawaii	No	Yes	No Guidance
Idaho	No	Yes	No Guidance
Illinois	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Indiana	No	Yes	No Guidance
Iowa	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Kansas	Yes	No	Cash Equivalent
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	Cash Equivalent
Louisiana	No	Yes	No Guidance
Maine	No	Yes	No Guidance
Maryland	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Massachusetts	No	No	No Guidance
Michigan	Yes	Yes	Cash Equivalent
Minnesota	No	No	Cash Equivalent
Mississippi	No	No	No Guidance
Missouri	No	No	Nontaxable
Montana	No	Yes	No Tax
Nebraska	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Nevada	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
New Hampshire	No	Yes	No Tax
New Jersey	Yes	Yes	Cash Equivalent
New Mexico	No	Yes	No Guidance
New York	No	Yes	Cash Equivalent
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
North Dakota	Yes	No	No Guidance
Ohio	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Oklahoma	Yes	No	No Guidance
Oregon	No	Yes	No Tax
Pennsylvania	No	No	No Guidance
Rhode Island	No	Yes	No Guidance
South Carolina	Yes	No	No Guidance
South Dakota	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Tennessee	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Texas	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Utah	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Vermont	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Virginia	No	Yes	No Guidance
Washington	Yes	Yes	Nontaxable
West Virginia	Yes	Yes	No Guidance
Wisconsin	No	No	Cash Equivalent
Wyoming	Yes	Yes	No Guidance

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Sources:

• ChicksX
• Eventbrite
• Built In
• Stevens Center for Innovations in Finance
• Coin ATM Radar
• Bloomberg Tax
• Google Keyword Planner
• U.S Census Bureau

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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