Companies that accept cryptocurrency payments in 147 countries as of March 9, 2021

Based on open-source information, most companies that had an in-store ATM for cryptocurrency withdrawal, or accepted them for payment in 2021, were in the U.S. This coincides with information provided from another source which tracks the number of basic and complex Bitcoin ATMs across the world: Here too, the U.S. topped that particular ranking. There were some significant differences, though. For instance, note the high entries for both Italy as well as well as Slovenia in this statistic, with both countries recording over 1,000 companies offering a cryptocurrency solution (against roughly 700 for the much more populated Germany). Indeed, whilst the number of Bitcoin ATMs for the U.S. far exceeded the figure shown here, the Bitcoin ATMs in various cities in Italy were significantly lower than the figures provided here.

The more crypto options available, the more people are using it?

The numbers in this ranking refer to (small) businesses that claim they have a cryptocurrency solution available. These companies can be found in all kinds of segments: The figures provided include barber salons, jewelry stores, car dealers, consulting firms, supermarkets or various other shop types people might use on a day-to-day basis. This leads to the question of whether consumers are actually using cryptocurrency as a viable payment method. As of early 2021, this is difficult to tell. According to a comparison of various consumer surveys held over the course of 2020, Italy was believed to be one of countries were consumers were least likely to own or use Bitcoin. On the other hand, note the development of cryptocurrency app usage in a country like Romania: The user base of an app such as Binance tripled between January 2021 and February 2021. As of 2021, the global cryptocurrency market is in flux with developments happening on a near daily basis. This makes the sector difficult to map out.

In it for the money: cryptocurrency attitudes across the world

Assuming companies offer cryptocurrency but their clients are not using them as much, why would a company do that? An answer for this question might be found in Nigeria. The African country was said to be one of the three countries with the most Bitcoin trading in the world in 2020. One of the reasons this occurs here, is the relatively low cost involved: using Bitcoin or Ethereum is deemed to be cheaper than using the local payment infrastructure. Whether other countries follow the same logic, cannot be determined. Opposed to this are the countries which are interested in cryptocurrency, but not immediately for its daily utilization. Russia, for instance, ranked among the top Bitcoin mining pools in the world, likely seeing crypto as a way to earn money rather than something to spend money with.