In 2023, the number of vendors accepting Bitcoin payments increased nearly threefold, according to Bitcoin merchant mapping provider BTC Map.
According to the most recent data from BTC Map, the number of restaurants, bars, stores, and services listed to accept the digital asset increased from 2,207 at the beginning of 2023 to 6,126 by the end of the year.
This represented a marginal decrease since the late September apex of 6,590 merchants.
BTC Map facilitates tagging locations where individuals can make Bitcoin payments using open-source mapping data from OpenStreetMap. Businesses and consumers can incorporate such places into the database with greater diligence, which may account for the observed increase.
As depicted on the map, there are greater concentrations of BTC-accepting merchants in Central and South America than in Africa and Asia. Additionally, there were a more significant number of merchants accepting cryptocurrencies in the United States and Europe.
According to the map, the Philippines had the most significant number of merchants in Southeast Asia, while China, India, and Russia had almost none.
Following their receipt, numerous cryptocurrency asset merchants reportedly resell the assets to the markets in November.
