A journey through Bitcoin Village.
Ever since around Thanksgiving, the way to impossible to tune out all of the noise that Bitcoin is making in the news. First, it had been Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to $20K, then an abrupt crash, downward spiraling down to under $6K at one thing. The widespread mania prompted (foolish) folks to remortgage their properties to avoid missing out on the promise of Lambos and wealth beyond our wildest dreams. Dreams that quickly turned out to be nightmares for a few, as FOMO reevaluated FUD in a mere few months.
Beyond the wild swings in price because of its volatile, speculative nature, men and women been embracing the cryptocurrency as a replacement for the almighty dollar, have started to show the remainder world what life using Bitcoin is like.
“Bitcoin Village,” a section of Portsmouth, Nh, is taking lead and showing the residual world that cryptocurrency is truly a currency employed for everyday occurrences, like eating out at your favorite restaurant, traversing to a theatre, ‘taking your hair did’, or shopping at a local mom and pop retail boutique.
The journey began with STREET, a not so formal dining restaurant that was featured when using episode of one’s Food Network’s ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’, entitled ‘Sausage, Seafood and Shawarma’. Flyers for Bitcoin that include a “quick-start guide” and references towards “world famous” Bitcoin tour. Marketing materials in the lobby on-site visit that Bitcoin is “accepted here” and boasts that “people who paid with Bitcoin saw food prices head to 75%” likely referencing Bitcoin’s parabolic value increased 2019.
The signage boldly asks “can money do that?”
STREET also accepts other cryptocurrencies, including Dash, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. When management was asked “why crypto,” the response was “there wasn’t a contributing factor not to accept it,” citing how easy it was subsequently to integrate an application into their iPad-based point-of-sales system. STREET’s sister restaurant, a varied pizza parlor found in the same plaza called STREET’ZA also accepts an identical cryptocurrencies.
Also on this famed Bitcoin “tour” was La Maison Navarre, a French pastry shop; Fresh Press, a 100% organic smoothie and foodie spot; Lair’s Bench, a brewpub; and Fezziwig’s Food and Fountain, that provides coffee, tea, crepes, milkshakes, and ice cream sundaes. And that only covers food.
Sol Sunwear, that had been the first retailer to sign up the Bitcoin revolution that came from Portsmouth, takes a tongue in cheek method to their accepting cryptocurrency. Like STREET, each shop accepting crypto in Bitcoin Village has unique signage to alert customers and passer-by that Bitcoin is accepted here. At Sol Sunwear, a store that sells designer eyewear, the sign reads “Bitcoin millionaires prefer Prada and Valentino.”
Another fashion outlet, Cotillion Bureau, offers second-hand clothing selected because of its craftsmanship.
As a tourism hotspot, Bitcoin Village is additionally home to one or two gift shops offering unique and fascinating trinkets. Pickwick’s Mercantile is one. Their “feminine” counterpart is Lady Pickwick’s. Deadwick’s Ethereal Emporium is filled with oddities including crystal balls, costumes, antiques plus much more – a stark contrast to your technologically advanced nature of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. All these places will take cryptocurrency alongside traditional dollars and cents.
For entertainment, 33 Artspace offers a local value for live performances, and also the Seacost Repertory Theatre is really a historic venue for plays, musicals, and better. Portsmouth School of Ballet, Portsmouth Smoke and Vape, Oomph Hairsalon, Port City Coin and jewellery, Pickwick’s at the Banke, including Portsmouth’s local Lens Crafters franchise accepts Bitcoin along with cryptocurrencies. Yoga classes at Pilates workouts Portsmouth can be taken care of using crypto. Crypto should buy you almost anything in this town.
Portsmouth is usually home to the Blockchain Institute of Technology and has hands-on education on blockchain development. Passing by the window, students were hard at work while unmanned computers had screensavers that flashed the images of various cryptocurrency tokens.
Last except for least, the tour ends on the Portsmouth Free State Bitcoin Shoppe. This is where it all started, the “Cryptoanarchy Mecca,” to be the two founders define it. Their mission is always to “help people use better money.” Inside the Free State Bitcoin Shoppe, patio furniture from crypto related T-shirts, cold storage hardware wallets, books, and propaganda are obtainable – but here, only cryptocurrency is accepted. You heard that right, they’ll turn away fiat money and encourage you to use their crypto ATM if you forget to already own Bitcoin or one of the many other cryptocurrencies accepted here (including Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Zcash, Monero, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dogecoin). This is basically the founders in the Free State Bitcoin Shoppe that encouraged other retailers in your community to get in the “movement.”
And what a job they’ve done. No other place on the earth offers a great wealth of diversity with its people and it is businesses, yet also accept cryptocurrencies so widely and openly. Portsmouth, NH happens to be an innovative community, yet it’s the one place on Earth where the future of currency – a potential led by cryptocurrencies – is already in practice.