- The number of merchants listed as accepting Bitcoin payments globally increased nearly 3x in 2023 to over 6,000 according to BTC Map data.
- Europe, Latin America, and the US showed the largest concentration of merchants accepting Bitcoin payments based on the map.
- Many merchants immediately sell the crypto assets they receive as payments back into fiat currency rather than holding them.
The crowdsourced mapping data reports a concentration of Bitcoin-accepting merchants in Europe and Latin America. The number of merchants listed as accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments globally went up nearly three-fold in 2023 according to data from Bitcoin merchant mapping provider BTC Map.
Geographic Distribution
As per the latest data from BTC Map, the number of restaurants, bars, shops and services listed to accept the digital asset hit 6,126 by the end of 2023, up from just 2,207 merchants at the start of the year. This was a slight decline since the peak of 6,590 merchants in late September.
BTC Map uses open-source mapping data from OpenStreetMap to allow businesses and users to tag places where people can pay with Bitcoin, meaning the increase could also be a function of users more diligently adding businesses to the database.
The map shows larger concentrations of BTC-accepting merchants in Central and South America and fewer across Africa and Asia. The United States and Europe also showed higher numbers of merchants accepting cryptocurrency. The Philippines had the most merchants in Southeast Asia and there were virtually none across China, India and Russia according to the map.
Conclusion
The data shows the continued growth in adoption of Bitcoin as a payment method by merchants globally, especially in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. However, merchant behaviors indicate many may convert crypto payments back into fiat currency soon after receipt. The increase in mapped merchants accepting Bitcoin could also be partly attributed to more users tagging businesses rather than entirely new adoption. But the overall trend highlights the growing ubiquity of Bitcoin payments worldwide.
