Fewer merchants, better spenders: how the count changed from 2022 to 2026

The map snapshot checked on 22 October 2026 lists 117 places. Separately, Eliazar estimated 40 to 50 accepting businesses in an interview published in January 2026 and 50 to 60 in one published in May 2026. In a voice answer in November 2026 he said about 50 businesses are active, and that the number is still growing. Publication dates are not necessarily recording dates, and neither estimate is a current merchant audit. These figures measure different things: map listings versus reported active use. The interviews describe a fast expansion followed by fewer participating businesses, and a lesson: a circular economy needs people who spend, not only places that accept. [Eliazar, voice answers, November 2026; BTC Map snapshot, 22 October 2026; Ordermoon interview, published January 2026; Bitcoinismo interview, published May 2026; recording date unconfirmed]

Before the details, look at the chart. Each mark is one public claim, placed on the day it was said. Claims given as a range, like 40 to 50, cover that range, and "more than" claims are a minimum. The separate line counts how many of today's 117 BTC Map places had been listed by each date. Notice how the marks scatter: they come from different people.

A very fast start in 2022

In March 2022, Patrick Melder, a founder of the project, said in an interview that about seven businesses accepted bitcoin. In April a Soy502 news clip counted 15. Eliazar went to El Zonte in El Salvador for a week, came back, and says that in six months he introduced around 60 businesses to bitcoin. By September 2022 the project's account on X spoke of more than 60 places around the lake. In an interview recorded around late 2022, a date that is inferred because it is not spoken, Eliazar says "we have 65 businesses now". Patrick later framed the network as 200 businesses in Guatemala, with about 100 around the lake. The chart uses lake-area claims for comparison, not the nationwide total. By July, Patrick said about 50 had joined since January, with another 50 expected; in September CoinDesk quoted him at about 70 around the lake. [Descubriendo Bitcoin interview, 29:44; Soy502 report, 0:18; Ordermoon podcast, 5:40; Project post on X, September 2022; One Love Bitcoin interview, 22:28; Patrick at Adopting Bitcoin 2022, national and lake counts; Patrick, July 2022, about 50 and another 50 expected; CoinDesk, September 2022, about 70 around the lake]

A peak above 100, and no clean number

In November 2023, at Adopting Bitcoin in El Salvador, volunteer Rudy Gallardo said there were around 80 businesses in Panajachel and over 100 around the lake. About half a minute later, in the same talk, he says more than 70 merchants accept bitcoin in Panajachel. The talk also gave the activity so far: 8.85 BTC and more than 5,000 transactions from January 2022 to April 2023. In February 2024 a news item shared on X said 90 locations. Looking back at 2024, Eliazar says they had reached more than 100 businesses. Patrick said about 70 in May 2023, while Eliazar said around 80 in one year; both are separate dated claims in the chart. [Adopting Bitcoin 2023 talk, 1:35; Same talk, 2:03; Same talk, 3:27; News item shared on X, February 2024; Ordermoon podcast, 6:55; Patrick, May 2023, about 70 businesses; Eliazar, around 80 businesses in one year]

Why the count fell

Eliazar's explanation is short. In Spanish, on Bitcoinismo, he says there were more than 100 businesses, but they did not see many transactions, so now there are about 50 or 60. On the Ordermoon podcast he calls it a mistake: many businesses were introduced and not many people came to spend. Ricky, from the founding group, says in 2025 that the team had to stop recruiting because bitcoin can only enter the local economy when bitcoiners visit and spend it. In January 2025 Eliazar estimated around 85 businesses accepting bitcoin, and said 50 to 60 percent cash out while 30 to 40 percent hold. This active-use detail is different from the total onboarded. [Bitcoinismo interview, 2:41; Ordermoon podcast, 7:27; Ricky interview, 46:16; Eliazar on 85 businesses and cash-out or holding, Jan 2025]

Price played a part too. Eliazar began in 2022, when bitcoin fell from about 45,000 to 15,000 or 16,000 dollars, and merchants watched it drop. Patrick said in May 2023 that during the 2022 bear market many merchants accepted bitcoin and then cashed out. Ricky remembers Eliazar acting as a "walking ATM", cashing merchants out almost every day. Staff changes also hurt: when an employee who knew the system leaves, someone has to teach the next one. In November 2026 Eliazar said the walking ATM now helps only one or two merchants, and only in an emergency. [Eliazar, voice answers, November 2026; Ordermoon podcast, 10:29; Bitcoin Economics podcast, 21:31; Ricky interview, 67:11; Ricky interview, 51:04]

What the team learned

The lesson is fewer merchants, more spenders and savers. An Ordermoon host, who is building a similar project, said you should aim for less but good quality, not 100 places. In March 2025 Ricky said the team can still onboard a business that asks, but there are already enough places for bitcoiners to spend, and the main effort is classes for children. On the saving side, Rudy said in 2023 that staff accept tips in bitcoin and prefer to keep them. In 2026 Eliazar says most businesses still accepting bitcoin have held it since 2022, and tells of primary school children saving their snack money in bitcoin. [Ordermoon podcast, 17:46 (host); Ricky interview, 54:21; Bitcoin Economics podcast, 23:38; Bitcoinismo interview, 12:17; Bitcoinismo interview, 12:46]

What BTC Map can and cannot tell us

BTC Map is a public map of places that accept bitcoin, built on OpenStreetMap. Today it lists 117 places at the lake. They were first listed between September 2022 and February 2026: 49 in 2022, 34 in 2023, 19 in 2024, 14 in 2025 and 1 in 2026. Two limits matter. The count only includes places still on the map, so places that were listed and later removed are missing, which is why the listing line can only rise. And a listing is not a check. The next chart shows the year of the last on-the-ground check recorded for each place. Look at how tall the bars are for 2022 and 2023. [BTC Map data, 22 October 2026]

Thirty places were last checked in 2022 and 28 in 2023, so 58 of the 117 have not been checked since 2023 at the latest. Only 13 were checked in the last 12 months, and one has no check at all. That does not mean those places closed. It means the map cannot confirm they are open. In a video published in May 2023, a visitor on the Reverend Hodl channel found a lakefront cafe that BTC Map listed but that no longer took bitcoin. He tried three places that morning and one accepted. In February 2025 a visitor said only about 25% of places they tried could actually process a bitcoin payment. This is one visitor’s experience, not a census. [BTC Map data, 22 October 2026; Reverend Hodl video, 2:42; Reverend Hodl video, 5:05; The Orange Future, February 2025, 7:03]

Why the site shows both numbers

So the site shows 117 listed and about 50 active. The 117 is a count anyone can check, with dates. The "about 50" is a spoken estimate from the team: 40 or 50 in the Ordermoon podcast, published in January 2026, and 50 or 60 in Bitcoinismo, published in May 2026. It is not an audit. In a voice answer in November 2026 Eliazar said the number is about 50 and still growing, as new businesses keep opening. Other numbers differ because they measure different things: onboarded or active, Panajachel or the whole lake, "more than" or "about". In 2025 outside accounts on X said over 80 businesses onboarded in February and over 40 in June. Read that as two different counts, not a fall in four months. [Eliazar, voice answers, November 2026; Ordermoon podcast, 7:44; Bitcoinismo interview, 2:46; Bitcoin Well on X, February 2025; Travel with Bitcoin on X, June 2025]

What visitors can do

Spend bitcoin while you are at the lake, because spending is what keeps the economy turning. Ask before you pay, since a listing or a sign can be out of date and staff may need a moment to set things up. Tip in sats: staff have said they like to save tips. And if a place is closed or no longer accepts bitcoin, report it on BTC Map so the next visitor does not walk there for nothing. A December 2022 Bitcoin Explorers video also visited an Antigua restaurant that had stopped accepting bitcoin; that example is outside the lake area. Read the linked visitor guide for practical preparation and payment fallbacks. [Practical visitor guide; Ricky interview, 49:39; Bitcoin Economics podcast, 23:38; BTC Map; Bitcoin Explorers, Antigua restaurant, Dec 2022]

In their words

Our mistake was to introduce bitcoin to a lot of businesses, and not many people came to spend bitcoin.

More than 100 businesses, but something happened: they did not see many transactions, so now we have about 50 or 60 businesses.

We had to stop because at some point there is not enough bitcoin coming in, since the only real way bitcoin can enter the economy is if bitcoiners go there, visit and spend.

We were seeing a lot of merchants that would accept Bitcoin and then cash out.

Businesses now have employees who accept tips in bitcoin, which is an interesting change.

Numbers and dates come from the linked sources. When sources disagree we say so. If you know better, tell us and we will fix it.