BTC Map: The number of merchants accepting Bitcoin soars by 174%

In 2023, the number of establishments increased from 2288 to 6329. The peak was recorded in September, when 6590 retail outlets accepting payments in the first cryptocurrency were registered on the portal. The data was collected by the non-profit mapping service OpenStreetMap. BTC Map analysts claim that they only took into account establishments in which both the administration and clients confirmed the possibility of paying with bitcoins.

The map shows a large concentration of BTC-accepting merchants in Central and South America. There are significantly fewer such points in Africa and Asia. There is also a noticeable number of stores accepting cryptocurrency in the US and Europe.

According to the map, the Philippines leads in the number of retail outlets in Southeast Asia. Recently, the commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of this country said that the agency is ready to take part in the “blockchain race” and promote the development of the latest technologies in the islands.

In China, India and Russia there are practically no such places on the map. The day before, the Apple App Store in India blocked the mobile applications of Binance and several other major cryptocurrency exchanges. The country's authorities have blacklisted trading platforms that are not registered with the local regulator.

The analytical portal Coin ATM Radar recently presented a report indicating that despite the steady growth in the value of the first cryptocurrency, in 2023 the number of Bitcoin-ATMs sharply decreased around the world.