BTC Map reports a 174% surge in worldwide merchants embracing Bitcoin in 2023.
The number of global businesses accepting Bitcoin payments saw a significant surge in 2023, nearly tripling from the previous year, according to BTC Map, a Bitcoin merchant mapping provider. The data revealed a rise from 2,207 venues at the beginning of the year to 6,126 by the end of 2023, including restaurants, bars, shops, and various other services. Although this represented a slight decrease from the peak of 6,590 merchants in September, the overall trend demonstrated a growing acceptance of Bitcoin.
BTC Map utilizes open-source mapping data from OpenStreetMap to enable businesses and users to identify locations that accept Bitcoin payments. The increase in merchant listings can be partly attributed to users actively adding businesses to the database. This expansion of Bitcoin vendors is not limited to specific regions but is a global phenomenon, with notable concentrations in Europe, the United States, and particularly in Latin America. The Philippines stands out in Asia with a significant number of Bitcoin-accepting vendors, while East Asia, particularly China, has experienced limited adoption due to regulatory restrictions.
This rise in Bitcoin adoption occurs amid the cryptocurrency’s price volatility throughout the year. Although the data collection relies on volunteer contributions and may not capture all vendors, it indicates a general trend towards a greater acceptance of Bitcoin. Last October, during the Plan B conference, crypto.news reported on a panel of Bitcoin leaders discussing the challenges and opportunities of global Bitcoin adoption. The panel highlighted the difficulties of onboarding new users and merchants, especially in diverse cultural contexts. Even in El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, there are still obstacles in convincing merchants to accept Bitcoin payments. Education was underscored as crucial in overcoming these challenges, with an emphasis on the development of user-friendly applications that simplify complex technologies to facilitate mainstream adoption.
