The Number of Bitcoin-Accepting Merchants Grows by 174%
In 2023, the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin payments increased by 174% globally to reach 6,126, according to data from BTC Map. It surged from 2,207 at the start of the year and peaked at 6,590 in late September before declining in the last months of the year.
The number of up-to-date merchants accepting BTC cataloged by @btcmap increased 174% in 2023. pic.twitter.com/EVHXHdmqkK
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) January 7, 2024
BTC Map leverages open-source data from OpenStreetMap, allowing users and businesses to tag vendors that accept Bitcoin payments.
Latin America Has the Highest Number Of Bitcoin-Accepting Vendors
BTC Map data shows Bitcoin’s acceptance as a means of payment varies geographically. Central and South America have the highest number of BTC-accepting vendors, closely followed by Europe and the US. Regions such as East Asia have lower numbers due to strict regulations, while countries like India and Russia lag with the lowest number of BTC-accepting vendors. China has no BTC merchants due to its strict ban on cryptocurrencies. Africa and Southeast Asia also have a significant number of BTC-accepting merchants.
A report by BitPay shows that Bitcoin was the most used cryptocurrency for payments in 2023, with 296,689 transactions, followed closely by Litecoin with 213,647 transactions. The Bitcoin Lightning network also saw an 84% growth in usage in 2023 compared to 2022, according to BitPay. The rise in BTC payments follows a previous report indicating the number of crypto ATMs dropped for the first time in a decade in 2023.
Hot Take
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.
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