In 2023, the number of establishments accepting bitcoin payments rose from 2288 to 6329. The peak was reached in September, with 6,590 merchants registered on the portal as accepting payments in the first cryptocurrency. The data was collected by the non-profit mapping service, OpenStreetMap. BTC Map analysts claim to have included only those establishments where both the administration and clients confirmed the ability to pay with bitcoins.
The map reveals a high concentration of merchants accepting BTC in Central and South America, while Africa and Asia have relatively fewer such points. The US and Europe also have a notable number of stores accepting cryptocurrency.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines leads in the number of retail outlets accepting bitcoins. The commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the country recently stated their willingness to participate in the “blockchain race” and support the development of cutting-edge technologies in the region.
On the other hand, China, India, and Russia show a lack of such establishments on the map. Just the day before, the Apple App Store in India blocked mobile applications of Binance and several other major cryptocurrency exchanges. The country’s authorities have placed those trading platforms on a blacklist due to their lack of registration with the local regulator.
In a separate report by the analytical portal Coin ATM Radar, it was revealed that despite the continuous growth in the value of bitcoin, the number of Bitcoin ATMs across the globe has significantly declined in 2023.