NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 18: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald … [+]
As Bitcoin’s price momentum increases, its offline footprint is emerging more clearly. Now, several spaces in the world offer Bitcoin-only discussion and serve as community hubs that host events, providing a contrast to the over-the-counter trading hubs and exchanges that deal in all sorts of tokens and cryptocurrencies. They often take Lightning payments (a near-instant settlement layer for Bitcoin) for beers or services there – providing an opportunity for people to do peer-to-peer trade in Bitcoin and buy services and goods for Bitcoin together.
In New York City, PubKey has garnered fame for being where former President Trump made his first Bitcoin transaction. Though Trump’s reputation is mixed in Bitcoin circles – he famously raised funds with his own token – the event took on a significance of its own as continued support for “crypto” led even other nation-states like China to take note, with a former vice minister for finance commenting on the need to study cryptocurrencies, shortly after Trump’s PubKey visit.
PubKey itself holds a charming location in Greenwich Village. When it isn’t hosting Bitcoin events, people come by, and it becomes a bumping local neighborhood bar. However, it retains its Bitcoin-only character with a shrine packed with Bitcoin memorabilia, including a clock that shows the current price of Bitcoin and a wall filled with Bitcoin-related speakers. An event space in the back plays host to many different Bitcoin-related events. There’s also the menu, which contains odes to Bitcoin culture such as the smash burger and the beef tallow fries. In the past, speakers have included Troy Cross on mining + energy, and Aaron van Wirdum on the Genesis Book and the history of Bitcoin.
While PubKey anchors New York City, another Bitcoin-only hub is emerging in London, which also has a large traditional finance sector as well. Cyphermunk House is filled with art installations that demonstrate, for example, the petro-dollar and a press freedom dedication to Julian Assange. A BTCPay server is set up to take payments in Bitcoin and the Lightning Network to get beers instantly. Events are hosted that focus on Bitcoin – such as a woman in Bitcoin event and a “Be Your Own Bank” event involving a former British Parliament member, Steve Baker.
In Nashville, Bitcoin Park has a co-working space and a space for recording Bitcoin podcasts and offers memberships both for those in Nashville and for those that visit often. During Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, the space was packed with Bitcoin luminaries. Payment is accepted in Bitcoin for stickers and coffees and serves as an anchor point for Bitcoiners in Nashville and beyond who can work together in a dedicated space.
In Vancouver, which is emerging as a Bitcoin hub with high amounts of merchant adoption, Funk Coffee Bar has a cafe and bar setup where you can pay in Lightning – a noticeboard sits with Bitcoin advertisements, and the Bar has hosted events with Willy Woo and BTCSessions – though the ambiance is casual with many people working. On the side, a Bitcoin library exists where people can borrow different copies of Bitcoin books.
This is also a global movement beyond Europe and the traditional North American hubs: there are Bitcoin-only spaces in Asia, with Bitcoin House Bali offering a focal area for digital nomads and others traveling in the area. El Salvador has the Palo Verde Hotel in El Zonte – where Bitcoin Beach’s Bitcoin meetup used to be hosted. Palo Verde also accepts Bitcoin.
Bitcoin-only community hubs are a reflection of online discourse shaping offline interactions. In spaces around the world, melded into the day-to-day of local, often hip neighborhoods, community hubs that accept Bitcoin serve as a place for local Bitcoin meetups to congregate, share knowledge, and trade peer-to-peer.
As they emerge, they serve as anchorheads for the next evolution of Bitcoin – widely discussed as “digital gold” but increasingly used as programmable money and medium of exchange (and perhaps, soon enough, unit of account) to build community and buy the drinks that come with that. And while cities around the world hold Bitcoin meetups and events where Bitcoiners can come together, the recent emergence of community hubs that are Bitcoin-only shows how Bitcoin principles are beginning to find their mark around the world.
Bitcoin-only community hubs discussed:
- PubKey, New York City, USA
- Cyphermunk House, London, UK
- Bitcoin Park, Nashville, USA
- Funk Coffee Bar, Vancouver, Canada
- Bitcoin House Bali, Bali, Indonesia
- Palo Verde Hotel, El Zonte, El Salvador