A new dataset tracking Bitcoin merchant adoption reveals stark regional disparities in payment acceptance rates per capita. The data tells a cautionary tale, particularly for New York—once positioned as a crypto hub, the state now lags significantly behind peers. The culprit? Regulatory frameworks like the Bitlicense regime, which have made it unnecessarily complex for merchants to integrate Bitcoin payments. While other jurisdictions are seeing accelerating merchant adoption, New York's compliance burden continues to stifle growth. This divergence matters: looser regulatory environments are winning the Bitcoin commerce race, attracting both merchants and payment infrastructure developers. The lesson here is clear—overregulation doesn't protect consumers; it just exports opportunity elsewhere.