But who is leading the charge in this boost in Bitcoin popularity? It probably won't come as a surprise but it's the capitalist empire of the United States that houses the majority of merchants that accept the cryptocurrency. They are then followed by the UK, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. This doesn't mean Bitcoin isn't catching on elsewhere. Emerging economies like Brazil who are experiencing huge growth in startups and technology, have seen a staggering 406% increase in Bitpay signups between the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. Fellow BRICS nation India has also seen a big growth in merchants accepting BTC.
While these economies are open and stable, where Bitcoin could have its biggest impact on the average person is in restrictive economies or countries where the central financial authority is failing. It will theoretically allow anyone to do business without government control. Bitpay itself, which is the leading payment processor used by merchants has seen a dollar equivalent growth of over $100 million from over 550,000 individual transactions, between 2013 and 2014.
The tell-tale sign that Bitcoin is leaving the investment realm and in to everyday use is that the average value of each individual transaction is going down, meaning users are paying for goods and services rather than doing bulk trades for profit. To put this in to perspective, the most purchased item on Overstock.com to be paid for with BTC is bed sheets! It doesn't get more everyday than bed sheets. What's interesting is that had merchants accepted all of these BitPay transactions in credit card form, they would have collectively lost $7,991,250 due to the 3% fee. In other words, adopting Bitcoin is saving sellers money and that's best for business. For more on the current Bitcoin landscape, check out the following infographic: coupofy
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