Mapping Bitcoin: The Missing Directory
Open Source
2026-02-15
Try to find a Bitcoin-accepting restaurant in your city.
Go ahead. Google it. You'll get outdated blog posts from 2021, dead links to businesses that stopped accepting BTC years ago, and maybe a Reddit thread with three upvotes.
Now try to find a verified list of Bitcoin merchants with reviews, ratings, and proof they actually accept Bitcoin today.
You can't. That directory didn't exist.
So we built it.
The Problem Nobody Solved
Bitcoin has been around for 15 years. Hundreds of thousands of merchants accept it. Lightning Network made payments instant and cheap. Adoption is happening.
But where's the map?
Google Maps doesn't care about payment methods. Yelp doesn't filter by "accepts Lightning." Apple Maps certainly doesn't know the difference between on-chain and NFC payments.
The Bitcoin community has tried to solve this. CoinMap launched in 2013. BTCMap followed. Various regional directories popped up. But they all share the same problems:
- Outdated data: Listings from 2017 with no verification
- No reviews: You can't tell if a merchant is good or even still exists
- No ecosystem mapping: Just merchants, nothing about the people, organizations, and communities building Bitcoin
- Centralized: One company controls the data
Mapping Bitcoin fixes all of this.
More Than Just Merchants
Here's what makes this different: we're not just mapping where to spend Bitcoin. We're mapping the entire ecosystem.
Merchants & Venues
- 23,000+ locations across 155 countries
- Filter by payment type: on-chain, Lightning, NFC
- Real reviews from real users
- Verification badges for confirmed acceptance
Organizations
- Bitcoin companies and startups
- Non-profits and advocacy groups
- Mining operations
- Exchanges and financial services
People
- Authors and educators
- Developers and contributors
- Community leaders
- Podcast hosts and content creators
Events & Meetups
- Bitcoin conferences worldwide
- Local meetup groups
- Educational workshops
- Hackathons and builder events
No other platform maps the full picture. You can discover not just where to spend Bitcoin, but who's building it, who's teaching it, and where the community gathers.
Verification Without Gatekeepers
Here's the part that matters: verification is decentralized.
Traditional directories require you to trust the platform. They verify businesses, they control badges, they decide who's legitimate. If the platform dies or gets acquired, so does your verification.
Mapping Bitcoin uses a different approach:
- Email verification: Prove you control the business email
- Domain verification: Add a DNS record to prove domain ownership
- Nostr integration: Link your decentralized identity
No central authority decides if you're real. The cryptographic proof speaks for itself.
Verified businesses get:
- Trust badge on their listing
- Higher visibility in search results
- Ability to respond to reviews
- Analytics on profile views
And it's completely free. No premium tiers. No pay-to-play.
Reviews That Actually Help
Every listing supports:
- Star ratings: Quick quality assessment
- Written reviews: Detailed experiences
- Photos: Proof of acceptance, ambiance, products
- Comments: Discussion between users and owners
- Reputation scores: Aggregated trustworthiness
Business owners can respond to reviews directly. If someone leaves inaccurate feedback, you can address it publicly. No hiding behind anonymous complaints.
The review system builds real reputation over time. A merchant with 50 positive reviews and a verification badge is obviously more trustworthy than an unverified listing with no feedback.
Open Data, Open Source
Everything is open:
- Data exports: Download the full dataset in CSV or JSON
- API access: Build your own applications on top of our data
- Open source: The codebase is MIT-licensed on GitHub
- Community contributions: Anyone can submit new listings
We built this on OpenStreetMap, the Wikipedia of maps. Data flows both ways—improvements to Mapping Bitcoin can flow back to OSM, and OSM updates refresh our listings.
Why does this matter? Because Bitcoin's directory shouldn't depend on one company's survival. If we disappear tomorrow, the data lives on. Fork it, improve it, keep it running.
The LinkedIn for Bitcoin
Think about how LinkedIn maps professional networks. You can find people by company, role, location, skills. You can see who's connected to whom. You can discover opportunities through your network.
Mapping Bitcoin does this for the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Want to find Bitcoin developers in Berlin? Search by location and role. Looking for Lightning-focused companies to partner with? Filter by specialty. Trying to connect with educators for a conference? They're mapped and discoverable.
The ecosystem is bigger than any of us realize. Mapping it makes it navigable.
Why This Matters for Adoption
Bitcoin adoption isn't just about number-go-up. It's about usability.
Every time someone wants to spend Bitcoin and can't find where, that's friction. Every time a merchant accepts Bitcoin but nobody knows, that's wasted effort. Every time a developer wants to join the ecosystem but can't find entry points, that's lost potential.
The map removes friction:
- For users: Find verified merchants instantly
- For merchants: Get discovered by Bitcoin holders
- For builders: Connect with the community
- For newcomers: See how big and active the ecosystem really is
When someone asks "but where can you actually spend Bitcoin?"—now there's a definitive answer.
Current Stats
As of today:
- 23,312 venues listed
- 155 countries represented
- 6 continents covered
- Growing daily through community contributions
The data refreshes every few hours. New submissions go through review before appearing. Scores recalculate daily based on verification status and review activity.
Add Your Business
If you accept Bitcoin—whether you're a coffee shop, a law firm, or a freelance developer—add yourself to the map.
The process takes five minutes:
- Visit mappingbitcoin.com
- Click "Add Venue" or "Add Organization"
- Fill in your details
- Complete verification (optional but recommended)
- Start receiving reviews and visibility
It's free. It's permanent. It helps the entire ecosystem.
What We're Building Next
This is just the foundation. On the roadmap:
- Mobile apps: Native iOS and Android for on-the-go discovery
- Enhanced reputation: Web of trust integration with Nostr
- Event calendars: Never miss a Bitcoin meetup near you
- Merchant analytics: Help businesses understand their Bitcoin customer base
- Translation: Full localization for global accessibility
We're building the infrastructure layer for Bitcoin commerce discovery. The map is just the beginning.
Try It
Visit mappingbitcoin.com and explore. Search your city. Check if your favorite merchants are listed. Leave reviews for places you've visited.
If something's missing, add it. If something's wrong, report it. This is a community resource—it gets better when you participate.
The Bitcoin economy is real, it's growing, and now it's mapped.
This is one of our open-source projects supporting the Bitcoin and Nostr communities. See all our projects at /projects.
Written by Dandelion Labs