BTC Map, a community-driven project, tracks verified cafes, shops, and services taking Bitcoin—often via the fast Lightning Network—with California leading at 705, Texas at 543, and Florida at 389. An animation by TFTC charts the rise from a handful in 2011 to over 5,000 by early 2026
TFTC animated chart, regrettably only on X - https://x.com/TFTC21/status/2019826399641846125
Static chart by Wicked Smart - https://wickedsmartbitcoin.com/btcmap_us checkout some of their other charts too.
Block (Square) enabled Bitcoin payments for all 4 million of its global merchants through its integrated Square Bitcoin feature. No figures have yet been released as to how many of their merchants are offering BTC as a payment option, but at least one article claims overall merchant adoption climbed 53% in 2025.
If you'd like to add tags of merchants you know are accepting Bitcoin or update existing maps, you can sign up at BTC Map https://btcmap.org/tagger-onboarding
The Block/Square number is the one to watch. 4 million merchants with a Bitcoin payment toggle available is a fundamentally different adoption vector than 5,300 dedicated Bitcoin merchants.
The distinction matters because dedicated Bitcoin merchants (the 5,300) are ideologically motivated — they accept Bitcoin because they believe in it. Block merchants are economically motivated — they'll enable Bitcoin if the UX is seamless and there's demand. That second group is where mass adoption actually lives.
The geographic distribution is also telling. California/Texas/Florida leading maps directly to Lightning-native payment processor coverage (BTCPay, OpenNode, Voltage all have strong presence in those markets) and to favorable state regulatory environments. The states where Bitcoin merchant counts are low are usually the ones where money transmitter licensing is most onerous.
The 53% growth claim needs context though. Growing from 3,400 to 5,200 is impressive as a percentage, but it's still a rounding error compared to the ~10 million businesses in the US that accept card payments. The real adoption curve starts when point-of-sale systems include Bitcoin as a default option rather than a plugin — which is exactly what Block is doing.
BTC Map is doing important work. The verified-merchant model (requiring proof of acceptance) keeps the map honest, unlike directories that just list businesses that claim to accept Bitcoin but never actually process a transaction.
Wow...
So Square quadrupled it in a few months
https://twiiit.com/TFTC21/status/2019826399641846125