A Guide to 5 Major U.S. Crypto Hubs

The United States can’t in anyway be listed among the top bitcoin-friendly countries. However, the U.S. leads the way when it comes to the number of cryptocurrency crimes. A recent report released by Group-IB indicates that the U.S. accounts for more than half of the cryptocurrency crimes in the world.

Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly mainstream in the United States. The country has the highest number of bitcoin ATMs and also the highest bitcoin trading volumes globally. However, there picture differs state by state.

Below is a guide to five major cryptocurrency hubs in the U.S.

Seated in the heart of the Silicon Valley, San Francisco is one of the most bitcoin-friendly cities in the U.S. It is home to large cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. Huobi - the world’s third largest exchange by its daily trading volume - has launched a new virtual currency marketplace in the city via a company called HBUS. More San Francisco-based bitcoin companies can be found here.

According to a report by Business Insider, over half a dozen residents of a San Francisco’s “Crypto Castle” have become bitcoin millionaires thanks to the cryptocurrency. The “castle” is a three-story home where young tech workers eat, sleep, party, and plot the future of money.

In 2015, Jeremy Gardner (now 26), then-director of operations at Augur, a market forecasting tool that runs on the blockchain, put down a $20,000 deposit to rent the house. It's since become a landing pad for people working in the cryptocurrency space.

For those looking for an easy way to buy bitcoin, there are 55 ATMs in and around San Francisco. The city often serves as a venue for a number of crypto and blockchain events throughout the year, and there are some interesting ones coming.

On August 21 Ken Holder, the CTO of Keepkey hardware wallet will share thoughts on how to protect cryptocurrencies from cyber criminals. David Packham, EOS block producer from EOS42 will be speaking on Optimism and challenges for the EOS blockchain, he will be addressing issues with governance, arbitration, RAM hoarding.

Want to learn how not to lose money trading? Then attend the Cryptocurrency 101 workshop series for those who want to get started on cryptocurrency on August 27.

A training in Bay Area for beginners from September 15 to 29 will give insights into the blockchain technology, its history, evolution and the future.

On October 15-16 San Francisco will host the Blockchain Innovation Summit 2018, which will provide an opportunity to learn from 500 retailers and innovative startups to create a business strategy that will ensure growth for the business.

Chicago is another major city in the U.S., which is shaping into an important cryptocurrency hub. Chicago-based exchanges, CME Group and CBOe, launched bitcoins futures trading in December 2017, just days before the largest cryptocurrency skyrocketed to it's all-time high of almost $20,000.

According to the bitcoin ATM radar, there are 185 bitcoin ATMs in Chicago. The most populated city in the State of Illinois is home to a number of blockchain startups such as BRD, which allows a transfer of cryptocurrency without any hidden fees. The BRD app connects directly to the cryptocurrency networks it supports. There are no accounts or usernames with the BRD app.

Tavalor International, Inc. seeks to disrupt the business lending industry by connecting investors and borrowers on a blockchain-based marketplace. It is building an integrated technology platform to make small business lending more efficient, transparent and borrower-friendly.

Bloq is an open source blockchain infrastructure solution that provides its services for global enterprises. The Chicago Blockchain Center is a coworking space and accelerator for early stage blockchain startups. The center also hosts educational and networking events.

On August 24-25 the Chicago Blockchain Project will organize the Voice of Blockchain, a creative event to show the effects blockchain will have on our future. Speakers will include blockchain icons, vertical industry leaders, and heads of states.

The Bitcoin, Blockchain, & Smart Contract Essentials workshop for lawyers will be held on October 25. The event will give lawyers insights into bitcoin, blockchain, and smart contracts. Participants will get a practical understanding of what's happening now, what they and their clients actually need to know and how to further develop the practice in this area.

On August 25-27 Chicago will host the Global Blockchain Hackathon 2018. All the competitors will demonstrate cutting-edge technology and cover topics including industry trend, real word application, open source software, solution-based case study and many others.

The New York City is taking steps to position itself as hub for blockchain innovation. The city is planning to launch a resource centre and a public competition to ‘build a foundation around the technology and position New York City as an accessible centre for blockchain innovation, James Patchett, the CEO and president of the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), told attendees at the CoinDesk Consensus conference in May 2018.

Furthermore, the New York State Assembly has proposed launching a digital currency task force to examine the burgeoning cryptocurrency and blockchain industries in the state, CCN reports. If approved, the nine-person task force will provide a detailed report of their findings by December 2019.

New York is home to Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler. It offers users to buy, sell, and store digital assets in a regulated, secure, and compliant manner.

Based in New York, Paxos is the first blockchain-powered trust, building products that simplify settlement in capital markets. Paxos also owns and operates the fully-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, itBit, that focuses on trading and custody of crypto assets for institutional investors.

Jibrel is a blockchain development company, specializing in building financial technology products for Tier 1 Banks and non-bank financial institutes as well as governments and regulators.

The New York Blockchain Summit to be held on August 26 will bring together blockchain technologists in the finance sector, regulators, industry commentators, computer science researchers and others involved in innovation to experts explore some of the technology and the many applications of blockchain.

The Blockchain for the UN Global Goals forum scheduled for August 27 will explore the world’s leading projects in social impact and the growing role of blockchain in the UN’s 2030. The event will bring together innovators in entrepreneurship, technology, and public policy to examine use cases, share expertise, and leverage blockchain to solve challenges of transparency, accountability, and efficiency to transform the planet by 2030.

The AI & Blockchain Fintech Confex on September 27 and 28, 2018 is intended to assist each attendee in not only sharing their experiences, but also discussing the emerging trends and challenges of Artificial Intelligence and blockchain bolstered by real world use cases.

The Texas capital is increasingly becoming a hotbed of blockchain activity. A former Alcoa Corp. site about an hour northeast of downtown Austin will shift from coal to cryptocurrency mining, the Austin Business Journalreports. China’s Bitmain Technologies will take nearly 1 million square feet in what used to be the aluminum smelter to set up a bitcoin mining center.

In April this year the city of Austin piloted a new blockchain platform to improve identity services for its homeless population, TechCrunch reports. The goal of the city’s blockchain pilot program is to consolidate the identity and vital records of each homeless person in a safe and confidential way while providing a means for service providers to access that information.

A prime example of a blockchain company in Austin is Factom, a top 30 global cryptocurrency firm that uses the blockchain to keep records and identities more secure. Factom technology secures data for private and public organizations by publishing encrypted data or a cryptographically unique fingerprint of the data to Factom’s immutable, distributed Blockchain.

On August 23 Austin will host a series of events titled gShowdown. One of the discussions will focus on whether “blockchain is worth the hype.” Over 2,000 developers/engineers, tech professionals & executives will gather in Austin for the DeveloperWeek Austin 2018 from November 6 to 8 to discuss what's new and innovative in software development. Among others the discussions will focus on Blockchain & Decentralized App Development.

Beacon Street in Boston was renamed into Blockchain Street this April to mark the start of the Boston Blockchain Week, a citywide series of events that brought together founders, researchers, students and investors to educate the world on blockchain and cryptocurrency.

With 35 universities and tens of thousands of talented students eager to work on new innovative technologies, Boston is already leading the way in research on cryptography, cyber security, distributed computing, and economics, all of which are essential to blockchain technology.

Boston is home to Circle, a global internet finance company built on blockchain technology. The company describes itself as “crypto-powered and people-centric.” Circle aims to democratize access to investing in all crypto assets. It utilizes the cryptocurrency technology of blockchain to allow users to send money instantly across borders. In February 2018 Circle acquired the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex.

Obelisk is a Boston-based hardware company that builds ASIC miners for various cryptocurrencies like Siacoin and Decred. They design everything in-house – from chips to enclosures – and then work with a network of manufacturers to bring them to the market.

Adjoint empowers enterprises to achieve new levels of efficiency and control by delivering blockchain technology built specifically for the needs of the financial industry. With security and privacy at the core, their products are specifically designed to improve the reconciliation of data between employees, departments and companies.

Boston will be the venue for Blockchain Summit 2018 on August 23. The Summit brings together blockchain technologists in the finance sector, regulators, industry commentators, computer science researchers and others involved in innovation; these experts explore some of the technology and the many applications of Blockchain.

From September 25 to 27 , Boston will host Global Blockchain Conference 2018 that will feature many of the blockchain thought leaders from the industry. Speakers will showcase successful industry vertical use cases, share development and administration tips, and educate organizations about how best to leverage Blockchain as a key component in their enterprise architecture.