The West Coast is the big hive of activity for Bitcoin discussion, it has emerged, with a new mapping tool showing the area has produced the largest concentration of Bitcoin tweets.

California, Oregon and Nevada comfortably beat the East Coast and Bitcoin melting pots such as Austin, Texas.

Data collected by researcher Diansheng Guo in 2014 was used to compile the map, which contains Twitter activity records for a whole host of words. However, ‘Blockchain’ is not one of them.

New York is still playing catch-up

While 2014 in cryptocurrency terms is already long in the past, Guo’s tool provides interesting reading. A snapshot of the nascent US Bitcoin economy, it is interesting that states which were quicker to begin regulation discussions - such as New York - did not seem to create a talking point outside the press. However, a search for the term ‘bank’ shows New York clearly in the lead.

By contrast in the early days, California and Oregon opted to give the Bitcoin business more room to maneuver.

Coin Center’s Neeraj Agrawal released the findings on Twitter, with respondents quick to weigh in on their significance. “I was really hoping for NYC to be a "Blockchain tweet hub,” Agrawal commented.

Of course, what can be inferred from tweet maps for any isolated term is at best arbitrary. San Francisco’s early transformation into a crypto startup powerhouse could go further in explaining California’s density, while for Oregon the causes are harder to fathom.

The grass is greener

As one comment on Agrawal’s post guesses, the cannabis trade may well have played a role here.

Since 2014, California has struggled with overburdensome regulatory moments, while Oregon at the same time is legalizing cannabis.

Furthermore, both states received a dedicated merchant support service for cannabis sales using Bitcoin in November. Run by First Bitcoin Capital, the tool is the first in the United States to conform fully to the latest state regulations.

Texas is a major player

Meanwhile, more recent data would be interesting to study. In the past two years, Texas has become a major player in the crypto startup market, while New York’s regulatory environment has forced out many startups originally seeking to make the state their home.

As for Blockchain, however, history is a mystery, as the map holds no data for the term!