I just noticed something interesting about the wave of crypto adoption at the state level in the U.S. Indiana has just authorized public retirement and savings plans to access Bitcoin and spot ETFs, a measure that Governor Mike Braun is likely to sign within the next 10 days. The curious thing is that Indiana is not alone in this.

The trend is quite clear: at least 7 states have already advanced in integrating cryptocurrency products into their public investment frameworks. Wyoming, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona are among them, and Arizona, in particular, has been quite aggressive in this. In fact, nearly half of the U.S. state governments are already investing or considering investing part of their funds in crypto. A recent analysis by CoinDesk shows that 21 states are on this path, mainly focused on Bitcoin, which is currently trading around $77.67k.

Much of this accelerated after Trump ordered his administration to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. States like Arizona, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have already passed legislation allowing certain public funds to purchase cryptocurrencies. It’s part of a broader strategy to position the U.S. as the global crypto capital.

But here’s the important part: the same day Indiana approved this, it also banned the operation of virtual currency kiosks across the state. And there’s a good reason for that. In Evansville, Indiana, residents lost approximately $400,000 in scams linked to these ATMs just in 2025. The FBI estimated that in the first half of 2025, Americans lost $240 million to crypto ATM fraud, and received nearly 11,000 reports in 2024, a 99% increase compared to the previous year.

Even the Massachusetts Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin Depot, claiming that it allowed criminals to use their machines to scam users. So while we see this institutional adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at the state level, we’re also witnessing a very real dark side. Regulation is necessary, but the challenge is to do it in a way that doesn’t stifle legitimate innovation.