Among the many considerations that go in to choosing to live in one place over another, money is a key factor. The way people’s personal financial situations are affected by the local economy and tax regime is a strong predictor of whether a location experiences inflows, or out-flows, of population. In aggregate, Americans are “voting with their feet,” moving from economically stagnant states with high taxes and high cost of living, to locales that allow them to keep more of their own money and build wealth.

Bitcoiners believe long-term trends favor economies that are more closely intertwined with bitcoin. However, it isn’t always easy to know which surveys, statistics, and studies are most relevant to bitcoiners. The Bitcoin Index combines several data sources into four top-level categories, which are themselves combinations of sub-categories. They all roll up to a single score for each state that conveys its stance toward bitcoin, in what Coinbits calls the Bitcoin Index.