Bitcoin for the Arts Research
Research methodology
BFTA Research begins with the numbers: budgets, financial documents, operating costs, public records, statistical series, and reported outcomes. We use those results to guide analysis, not to decorate a predetermined argument.
Research principles
- Primary sources first. Official source material is preferred over summaries, commentary, or social media posts.
- No hype. Reports should avoid advocacy language, partisan framing, and inflated claims. The evidence should carry the argument.
- No unsourced stats. A number without a source is not ready for publication.
- Numbers are treated seriously. We believe the results of budgets, costs, expenses, grants, revenue, and balance sheets are among the strongest guides to institutional reality.
- Limitations are explicit. Preliminary, proposed, lagged, revised, or estimated data should be labeled as such.
Source hierarchy
Budgets, financial statements, and operating documents
Official budgets, appropriations, operating expenses, balance sheets, audited statements, grant guidelines, and agency reports are preferred when available.
Government and statistical agencies
Federal, state, local, and international statistical agencies are used for labor, price, GDP, monetary, demographic, and public-finance data.
Peer-reviewed and university research
Academic research is used where methods are transparent and the research question matches the claim being made.
Major nonprofit research organizations
Sector research from established nonprofit, philanthropic, and arts-policy institutions is used as supporting evidence and as a community-building bridge.
Reputable journalism and institutional reporting
Journalism is used for live case studies, institutional quotes, and local examples when primary documents are unavailable or incomplete.
Annual flagship report
The State of Arts Funding report is reviewed and updated annually, with publication targeted for the second quarter.
Deep-dive reports
Deep dives are reviewed semiannually, or sooner if a primary source materially changes the analysis.
Last reviewed dates
Each report should display a last-reviewed date so readers can understand the currency of the evidence.
AI, analysis, and human review
AI tools may assist with searching, summarizing, outlining, and drafting, but AI output is not treated as evidence. Every factual claim must be traceable to a reviewed source before publication. Claims generated by AI without source verification are excluded or held for further review.
Reports are published under the institutional byline Bitcoin for the Arts Research. The byline signals accountability to a research standard rather than personal authorship.
Legal and professional disclaimers
BFTA Research is educational and informational. It is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, accounting advice, or legal advice. Readers, donors, institutions, and artists should consult qualified professional advisors for legal, tax, accounting, investment, custody, governance, and compliance decisions.
Bitcoin and other innovative technologies involve risk. BFTA encourages research, education, professional consultation, and clear documentation before any institution adopts new treasury, custody, or grantmaking practices.
Research participation
Bitcoin For The Arts, Inc. welcomes institutional researchers, economists, arts administrators, public finance specialists, nonprofit finance professionals, and data volunteers who want to strengthen this work. Funding and volunteer support directly improve our ability to maintain rigorous public research for the arts.