In a significant development for the cryptocurrency sector, the number of global merchants accepting Bitcoin payments saw a nearly three-fold increase in 2023. This information comes from BTC Map, a provider of Bitcoin merchant mapping data. The data reveals that the count of restaurants, bars, shops, and services accepting the digital asset reached 6,126 by the end of 2023, a substantial rise from the 2,207 merchants recorded at the beginning of the year.
However, this figure represents a slight dip from the peak of 6,590 merchants recorded in late September. BTC Map, which uses open-source mapping data from OpenStreetMap, allows businesses and users to tag locations where Bitcoin payments are accepted. The surge in numbers could also be attributed to users adding businesses to the database more diligently.
The mapping data shows a larger concentration of Bitcoin-accepting merchants in Central and South America, with fewer in Africa and Asia. The United States and Europe also demonstrated higher numbers of merchants accepting the cryptocurrency. A related survey found that 85% of merchants view crypto payments as a means to attract new customers.
In Southeast Asia, the Philippines had the highest number of merchants, while there were virtually none in China, India, and Russia. It’s worth noting that many merchants accepting crypto assets tend to sell them back to markets after receiving them.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Global |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 🇵🇠🇨🇳 🇮🇳 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Cointelegraph, BTC Map, OpenStreetMap |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
