Investing in cryptocurrencies is clearly not for the faint of coronary heart. The worth of bitcoin has plunged from its excessive final fall, and others have adopted equally gut-wrenching paths.

However that doesn’t imply that the revolutionary know-how behind them, which permits for improvements equivalent to sensible contracts and instantaneous peer-to-peer funds, will not be right here to remain. Due to that, many states are jockeying for management on this rising business.

With that in thoughts, CNBC’s America’s Prime States for Enterprise research — which scores all 50 states on a broad vary of aggressive options — is paying particular consideration to cryptocurrency underneath this yr’s methodology.

Our essential Price of Doing Enterprise class has all the time included the price of electrical energy, a key consideration on this power-hungry business. This yr, our Know-how and Innovation class features a measure of every state’s share of computational energy or “hash charge.” And our Enterprise Friendliness class offers particular consideration to how states are regulating this more and more essential business.

Primarily based on these metrics, these ten states are main the way in which.

“It is occurring,” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted final yr. “Texas would be the crypto chief.”

He could also be proper. The Lone Star State is persistently at or close to the highest for mining capability, operating neck and neck with Georgia. Electrical energy is inexpensive even earlier than the particular offers accessible for crypto miners, although the state’s impartial energy grid has had reliability points. Texas has begun regulating cryptocurrencies with an eye fixed in direction of giving them a strong basis for progress.

Mining capability: No. 2

Electrical energy price: No. 16

Regulation: No. 21 (tie)

Mining runs deep in Kentucky‘s heritage, however as of late the state is buying and selling coal for crypto. Final yr, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed into regulation a sequence of tax breaks for cryptocurrency mining, together with extending electrical energy incentives that had been designated for renewable vitality use to incorporate the rising business. The tax breaks are already working to draw miners. The state additionally started updating its monetary laws to embody crypto.

Mining capability: No. 3

Electrical energy price: No. 13

Regulation: No. 21 (tie)

Virginia‘s Bureau of Monetary Establishments has taken a principally hands-off method towards regulating cryptocurrency whereas preserving residents of the commonwealth knowledgeable concerning the dangers. In April, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a groundbreaking invoice clearing the way in which for banks to carry clients’ crypto property, supplied they’ve the correct threat administration instruments in place.

Mining capability: No. 15

Electrical energy price: No. 15

Regulation: No. 6

The Gem State presents the bottom electrical energy prices within the nation, although that has but to translate to a giant inflow of mining exercise. This yr, the state handed the Digital Property Act, making a broad framework for cryptocurrency regulation. The brand new regulation particularly excludes digital currencies from regulation underneath state securities legal guidelines.

Mining capability: No. 29

Electrical energy price: No. 1

Regulation: No. 6

Low electrical energy prices are additionally a plus within the Evergreen State. Mix that with a powerful tech ecosystem, and it’s proving to be a draw for miners. This yr, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee signed a brand new regulation establishing the Washington State Blockchain Work Group aimed toward advancing the brand new know-how and establishing partnerships between the state and the business.

Mining capability: No. 8

Electrical energy price: No. 6

Regulation: No. 21 (tie)

The Beehive State is fastidiously crafting laws for blockchain, and in March, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a invoice that enables state and native governments to just accept funds within the type of digital property. The state additionally shaped a brand new blockchain innovation process pressure.

Mining capability: No. 23

Electrical energy price: No. 3

Regulation: No. 1 (tie)

Low prices and sensible regulation are making The Peace Backyard State fertile floor for crypto, and the hassle could also be paying off. Final month, mining firm Bitzero introduced it’s going to construct its North American headquarters in North Dakota. The corporate, whose traders embody Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary, is aiming to construct an environmentally pleasant bitcoin mining operation.

Mining capability: No. 18

Electrical energy price: No. 4

Regulation: No. 4

German high-performance computing firm Northern Knowledge, which leverages its crypto mining capabilities to create information facilities around the globe, has chosen Pryor, Oklahoma, east of Tulsa, for its North American headquarters. The Sooner State presents low prices, and its laws, whereas nonetheless a piece in progress, are pleasant.

Mining capability: No. 10

Electrical energy price: No. 8

Regulation: No. 6 (tie)

One other state that’s higher recognized for different varieties of mining, The Cowboy State is aiming to be the crypto state. Wyoming has enacted dozens of legal guidelines to appeal to the business, together with a framework to constitution crypto banks. The state additionally presents a number of the lowest electrical energy prices within the nation. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis (R), who owns crypto, has been a serious backer of crypto laws in D.C.

Mining capability: No. 20

Electrical energy price: No. 2

Regulation: No. 1 (tie)

The Cornhusker State is taking the lead in cultivating crypto banking, establishing its personal financial institution constitution regime final yr. It is usually a mining powerhouse on the prairie. Minnesota-based Compute North says it selected Kearney, Nebraska, for its large, 100-megawatt information heart in 2019 due to “its ideally suited location in America’s heartland and its direct entry to quite a lot of vitality sources.”

Mining capability: No. 7

Electrical energy price: No. 10

Regulation: No. 6 (tie)