Flagship annual report
Published v1
The State of Arts Funding 2026
BFTA's annual anchor document on public, private, and non-state-dependent arts funding.
Published v1
PDF available
Bitcoin for the Arts Research
Data and analysis for the future of arts funding.
BFTA Research is building an institutional, citable body of work on arts funding, the ARPA cliff, and Bitcoin-native patronage. The goal is simple: make Bitcoin for the Arts useful to journalists, foundation officers, donors, and researchers trying to understand why arts funding needs more durable rails.
Institutional byline
Bitcoin for the Arts Research
No personal report bylines. Reports are designed to be cited as research from Bitcoin for the Arts.
Arts GDP growth
6.6%
Real arts and cultural economic activity growth in 2023, compared with 2.9% real GDP growth for the broader U.S. economy.
GDP contribution
$1.17T
Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.2% of U.S. GDP in 2023.
Arts employment
5.4M
Arts and cultural employment nationwide in 2023.
State arts funding
-7.7%
Projected FY2026 decline in total state and jurisdictional arts agency appropriations.
Arts sector growth compared with the broader U.S. economy
Real 2023 growth: arts and cultural economic activity grew more than twice as fast as real GDP.
Research standards
- Institutional: reports are published under the Bitcoin for the Arts Research byline, not personal authorship.
- Cited: factual claims should point back to primary sources or clearly named secondary reporting.
- Measured: charts and summary stats are included only when the underlying data can be reviewed and updated.
- Serious: the intended reader is a journalist, grantmaker, researcher, or critical donor looking for verifiable analysis.
V1 report scope
Reports in production
Deep-dive #1
Published v1
The ARPA Cliff
A research brief on how temporary American Rescue Plan arts relief moved through federal, state, and local systems — and what happens as those dollars run off.
Published v1
PDF available
Deep-dive #2
Published v1
Sound Money for the Arts
BFTA's analytical case for why fiat debasement hits working artists hard, and why Bitcoin-native endowments change the funding horizon.
Published v1
PDF available
Research standards
Methodology and glossary
BFTA Research is built on primary sources first, no hype, no unsourced statistics, and clear correction pathways. The methodology and glossary pages document how we select sources, update reports, define terms, and handle professional disclaimers.