This market will resolve YES if by January 1 2030, the number of states in the USA remains 50.

This market will resolve NO as soon as the number of states changes.

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A U.S. state is a region with its own government, part of the federal system. States have representation in Congress, autonomy in local matters, and are admitted through Congressional approval. Puerto Rico, however, is a U.S. territory, not a state.

To join the USA, a territory must conduct a referendum indicating the desire for statehood, and then Congress must pass a statehood bill that the President signs. This process involves both the will of the territory's residents and legislative action at the federal level.

For a state to leave the Union, there is no established legal or constitutional process. The U.S. Supreme Court's 1869 Texas v. White decision implies that a state cannot unilaterally secede and that any such act would be considered unconstitutional.