American crypto policy isn’t just written in Washington. In the past few months, Congress passed a stablecoin bill and advanced market structure legislation — both with broad bipartisan support. Meanwhile — in 2024 alone — the states passed 57 crypto bills. States are now at the center of U.S. crypto policymaking — and that’s both an opportunity and a risk. Good state policy can drive responsible innovation, attract builders, and protect users. Bad policy can push innovation offshore or stymie it altogether. In our new State Crypto Policy Playbook, Kevin McKinley and Aiden Slavin outline five practical steps states can take to craft sound policy — from adopting Wyoming’s DUNA to following Illinois’ lead on token classification, launching blockchain task forces, piloting real-world use cases, and aligning state stablecoin regimes with the new federal framework. States have long been the laboratories of democracy. Now they can be laboratories for building the future of the internet — if they get the policy right.(a16z crypto)