California is the ‘most crypto ready’ US state
The US is ranked the most 'crypto-ready country' – with the UK coming in fifth
California has been named the 'most crypto ready state' in the US – while America is the most crypto-ready country.
The rankings have been awarded by research from the site Crypto Head, which describes itself as “a platform that allows both new and experienced users to learn about the crypto industry and make informed decisions”.
The state of California received a score of 5.72 out of 10, beating second-placed New Jersey with a score of 5.44 out of 10. California received the highest score due to there being “977 Google crypto-related searches per 100,000 people and 2,473 crypto ATMs, both of which are national highs, but no state-specific legislation".
Texas came third, Florida fourth and New York fifth.
Florida fourth despite Miami’s crypto bid
Florida fourth-placed ranking came despite the fact that Miami's mayor, Francis Suarez, has declared his aim is to make the city the crypto capital of the world.
Miami held the largest crypto gathering ever in June called bitcoin2021, which had a sold-out crowd of 12,000 people attending.
The event saw talks from Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square; bitcoin bull Michael Saylor; CEO of MicroStrategy (MSTR), an independent publicly traded business intelligence company; and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, who has invested in bitcoin.
Other attendees included Cynthia Lummis, a US senator from Wyoming; and Ron Paul, an American author, activist, physician and retired politician, who served as the US Representative for the 22nd congressional district of Texas.
Looking at paying staff in crypto
Mayor Suarez told CNBC in an interview in June that he wants Miami to be “seen as a city that focuses on the next series of technological advances like artificial intelligence (AI), crypto and biotech".
He said he is actively looking into allowing people to be paid in bitcoin, with workers able to choose to receive part or all their pay in crypto, as well as letting some taxes be paid in crypto.
Suarez himself holds both bitcoin and ethereum.
New Jersey and Texas beat Florida due to the number of crypto ATMs they hold. New York received a position in the top five thanks at least in part to passing eight crypto-focused bills, though it has less than one crypto ATM per 100,000 people.
US is the most 'crypto-ready country'
Separate research from Crypto Head found the US to be the most crypto-ready country, scoring 7.13 out of 10. The US was followed by Cyprus, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK.
The UK saw a 205% increase in crypto searches over the last year, and Britain also has the third-highest number of crypto ATMs globally after the US and Canada, with 200 machines around the country.
To gather this data, Crypto Head analysed the number of crypto ATMs the country holds, how accessible the ATMs are to the general population, the government’s legal stance on cryptos and whether they can be used in banks, and the level of interest in cryptos by the number of online searches for digital assets.
