Satoshi Nakamoto's original dream for BTC was to develop a form of money that was widely accepted, decentralized and free from all forms of manipulation and control.
Every day, we see this dream coming to fruition, and this article is about to make things even clearer.
According to reports, the number of BTC-accepting merchants has nearly tripled recently, just as the next Bitcoin bull run approaches.
Here are all of the details:
BTC Map is a database that keeps track of the locations of businesses that accept Bitcoin as a means of payment.
And according to reports at the end of 2023, over 6,000 retailers were taking BTC as payment, marking a 174% increase from the previous year.
BTC Map has established itself as a cooperative and decentralized database that uses open-source mapping data from OpenStreetMaps.
It allows companies and consumers to tag locations where customers are allowed to make BTC payments.
The platform displays this information in terms of business type, including eateries, pubs, stores, and services.
Along with adding new companies to the map, users can also evaluate and review the existing businesses.
The number of Bitcoin-accepting businesses worldwide increased by over three times in 2023, from 2,207 at the beginning of the year to 6,126 at the end, according to the most recent data from BTC Map.
However, after this metric hit 6,590 merchants in late September, this number entered a minor plummet, which may have been due to the holidays or the market volatility from October until date.
Additionally, the data shows some geographical variations in the adoption of BTC as shown above.
The map indicates that Central and South America, particularly nations like Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela, have higher concentrations of businesses that take BTC.
This rise may have been due to customers and businesses choosing BTC because of severe inflation, currency depreciation, and political unrest in these areas.
Higher numbers of companies adopting cryptocurrencies were also seen in the US and Europe, indicating that customers and businesses in these developed regions are becoming more interested in and knowledgeable about BTC.
The biggest cities with the greatest number of merchants accepting BTC are also New York, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris.
Africa and Asia, on the other hand, have larger populations and larger potential markets for the adoption of cryptocurrencies, but fewer businesses that accept Bitcoin., excluding countries like Nigeria, Kenya, India, and Indonesia.
Others like China and Russia had the fewest, due to their tight restrictions and outright prohibitions on crypto activity.
The expansion of Bitcoin-accepting retailers worldwide in 2023 only shows that BTC adoption is on the rise, and is starting to look more appealing as a universal mode of payment.
The more businesses accept Bitcoin, the greater its adoption, price, as well as the network's overall security.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.