A spatial analysis of the use of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange

Padraig Corcoran (), Anqi Liu, Jing Chen and Irena Spasić
Additional contact information
Padraig Corcoran: Cardiff University, School of Computer Science & Informatics
Anqi Liu: Cardiff University, School of Mathematics
Jing Chen: Cardiff University, School of Mathematics
Irena Spasić: Cardiff University, School of Computer Science & Informatics

Financial Innovation, 2025, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: Abstract We present a spatial analysis of Bitcoin-accepting merchants using BTC Map, a global crowdsourced dataset built on OpenStreetMap, to provide ground-level evidence on Bitcoin’s payment ecosystem. While prior research emphasizes macroeconomic drivers, our analysis of approximately 11,000 merchants shows that local adoption is more strongly shaped by community dynamics and sectoral niches. Acknowledging quality variance in crowdsourced data, we focus on verified regional clusters. We find a global concentration of adoption in the hospitality sector, localised clusters driven by grassroots initiatives rather than national policy and significant presence in alternative healthcare and IT services. These findings highlight the limits of top-down interventions such as El Salvador’s legal tender law and underscore the role of social networks in sustaining adoption. By contrasting spatial micro-level evidence with national studies, this work positions merchant data as a key lens for understanding Bitcoin’s evolving role as a medium of exchange.

Keywords: Bitcoin; Medium of Exchange; Crowdsourcing; Spatial Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40854-025-00871-z Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:fininn:v:11:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1186_s40854-025-00871-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... nomics/journal/40589

DOI: 10.1186/s40854-025-00871-z

Access Statistics for this article

Financial Innovation is currently edited by J. Leon Zhao and Zongyi

More articles in Financial Innovation from Springer, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().