So, I was curious to know which cities are most Bitcoin friendly, and one of the closest rankings I came upon was the multipolitan Bitcoin adoption ranking.

The funny thing is, in this ranking and elsewhere, cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai etc. are touted as Bitcoin friendly, but on ground barely anyone knows what's Bitcoin or barely any merchant (physical or online) accepts it. This is evidenced all the more by the BTC map.

On the other hand, in the west, specifically, in the US, Switzerland, Czechia, it is quite often you come across a shop that takes sats. I don't bother to stop random people on the sidewalk to talk Bitcoin (which is extremely creepy and scam-like), but I think it is fair to take merchant adoption as the best proxy of awareness/adoption.

So, what gives? I am not talking about the reason those cities don't have adoption, I am more curious about the so called narrative that they lead in adoption when BTC map tells a completely different story. Who is perpetuating the narrative and why and how??

At a more cynical level, I am having a feeling that those cities like Singapore or Hong Kong see apparent Bitcoin friendliness as a way to pull some exchanges and Blockchain firms, to create jobs and create a narrative around growth and innovation. But the Asian authoritarian culture cannot wrap their heads around the concept of self sovereignty and permission-less capital empowering individuals holding the money. Hence, they are walking a tight rope to attract investment and job creation by institutions, but also trying their best to keep individual citizens from actually using Bitcoin.

Is my guess correct?