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.
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.