Data discoveries
US Cryptocurrency Trends & Hotspots 2021: Most Crypto-Savvy States Revealed
Which states are the biggest cryptocurrency hotspots in the country?
Cryptocurrency may not be part of the mainstream economy just yet, but demand is so high in some states, US financial authorities are looking at ways to regulate the market.
Over the past five years, interest in cryptocurrencies surged by over 3000% in the US. Around 6% of the US population now use or own crypto, and the trend is growing. In fact, as many as a quarter of US investors are now entrusting their money to the crypto market.
With interest surging across the country, we looked into which currencies have seen the most significant spike in value, crypto trends dominating 2021 and which US states are investing their money in the crypto market.
US Cryptocurrency Hotspots 2021
We analysed search data to uncover the states driving the ongoing crypto craze. These are the areas with the largest interest in crypto in 2021, alongside the increase in demand since 2020:
- Hawaii: +687%
- Nevada: +621%
- California: +655%
- Florida: +628%
- Colorado: +637%
Cryptocurrency Trends of 2021
While Hawaii, Nevada, California, Florida and Colorado show the highest cryptocurrency interest in the US, the top-performing coins of 2021 have more widespread appeal:
Dogecoin (DOGE)
+6,900% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $0.005
- May 2021 value: $0.35
+1,781% increase in interest across the US
Dogecoin hotspots: Alaska, California, North Dakota, Washington
Maker (MKR)
+602% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $564.00
- May 2021 value: $3957.00
+493% increase in interest across the US
Maker hotspots: California, Texas
Ethereum (ETH)
+313% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $683.00
- May 2021 value: $2,823.00
+777% increase in interest across the US
Ethereum hotspots: California, New Jersey, Washington
Dash (DASH)
+101% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $107.00
- May 2021 value: $215.00
+206% increase in interest across the US
Dash hotspots: Alaska, Arizona
Litecoin (LTC)
+56% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $128.00
- May 2021 value: $199.00
+433% increase in interest across the US
Litecoin hotspots: Alaska, Washington
Bitcoin (BTC)
+51% increase in value since 2020
- December 2020 value: $26,272.00
- May 2021 value: $39,746.00
+239% increase in interest across the US
Bitcoin hotspots: Hawaii, Nevada
Dogecoin: 2021’s biggest cryptocurrency trend
Once a meme, now a cryptocurrency, Dogecoin’s incredible 6,900% surge in value is the culmination of various factors: interest from Redditors spurring one another on, Elon Musk’s tweets and space explorations, a Snoop Dogg repost, and controversy around the electronic trading platform, Robinhood. One Dogecoin is now worth roughly $0.35 — a modest amount compared to the other coins on this list, but it still has the largest increase in value of any crypto this year by far.
American businesses accepting cryptocurrency
It’s clear plenty of Americans are investing in crypto or are buying coins for online use. But what about actual brick-and-mortar businesses?
Acceptance of cryptocurrencies among businesses is slowly growing across the US. To date, around 2,300 US businesses accept Bitcoin, although its use is more prolific in some states than others:
| States with most businesses accepting Bitcoin | States with least businesses accepting Bitcoin |
| California – 440 businesses | South Dakota – 1 business |
| Florida – 180 businesses | Wyoming, Rhode Island – 4 businesses |
| New York – 148 businesses | Mississippi – 6 businesses |
| Texas – 145 businesses | West Virginia, Delaware, Alaska, – 7 businesses |
| Colorado – 95 businesses | Vermont, North Dakota – 8 businesses |
Sources
Search trend data was gathered using Google Trends by comparing the average interest in 2020 to 2021.
Current cryptocurrency values were sourced at CoinMarketCap.
Cryptocurrency price growth data is sourced from Statista.