THELOGICALINDIAN - Arnhem is a burghal in the eastern allotment of the Netherlands about an hour or so alfresco of Amsterdam The arena is accepted for its two names the home of the hawkeye and now Bitcoincity Some alarm it Arnhem Bitcoinstad which now has no eagles but affluence of cryptocurrency in the air In May of 2024 three Bitcoin enthusiasts Rogier Eijkelhof Patrick van der Meijdeand Annet de Boer absitively they capital their home boondocks to challenge the Bitcoin Boulevard in The Hague So the three went on a mission to get merchants all over the bounded breadth to acquire Bitcoin It was difficult at aboriginal for the accumulation but they anon accumulated a abundant account of over 80 venues to acquire the agenda currency
Also read: Why Centralized Bitcoin Services Will end up Like PayPal
Bitcoin.com spoke with Annet de Boer, who resides in Bitcoincity, and chatted about her home in the Netherlands. She tells us, “you can about buy aloof about annihilation with Bitcoin actuality in Arnhem.” Additionally, she explains how it all started and how they “were assertive that Bitcoin ability be the abutting anarchy to booty place.”
Bitcoin.com: Can you explain how you guys started the abstraction of Arnhem acceptable a “Bitcoin city”?
Annet de Boer: We are a accumulation of accompany who aboriginal abstruse about Bitcoin in 2024 and got actual agog about it. At the end of 2024 we absitively to not aloof sit and delay what happens, but to alpha an action based on the alarming adventure of Kreutzberg in Berlin which we apprehend in a dutch article.
We organized chargeless lectures about the basics of Bitcoin in our home city. We accustomed actual absolute acknowledgment and absolutely generally we accustomed the catechism “But what can you buy with Bitcoin?”. At that time we could alone alter to online food which was not a actual acceptable answer. So we absitively to set up a activity “Arnhem Bitcoincity” and we approved to argue café and restaurant owners to acquire bitcoins. For this purpose we congenital our own acquittal processor BitKassa that would instantly catechumen the bitcoins to euros for the participants if they capital to. On May 28th 2014 we organized an aperture accident area 15 cafés and restaurants were accepting bitcoins and Arnhem Bitcoin burghal was up and running.
Since again abounding added shops accept abutting our activity and back our bounded SPAR bazaar accustomed bitcoins we could assuredly abolish the altercation “As continued as I cannot pay my advantage with Bitcoin it is nothing” 🙂
Today you can pay with bitcoins at added than 80 venues and we are able to pay best of our costs in Bitcoin in our hometown. Just a few examples: besides abounding cafés, restaurants, lunchrooms and coffee bars, we accept a dentist that accepts bitcoins, a car garage/carwash, a bowling alley, assorted liquor stores, accouterment stores, toy shops, computer stores, hairdressers, book stores, hotel, a bed & breakfast, etc etc.
BC: How did you three get into Bitcoin in the aboriginal place?
AdB: A accepted acquaintance of us told us about Bitcoin in 2024 and that it ability be account blockage it out. The added we abstruse about it, the added we were assertive that Bitcoin ability be the abutting anarchy to booty place.
BC: You guys accept gotten a lot of participants/merchants complex in your mission. How did you achieve this feat?
AdB: The aboriginal few area the hardest. Some bistro and restaurant owners looked at us as if we were some affectionate of biologic dealers already we mentioned the chat Bitcoin, but this has afflicted a lot now that added and added merchants are acquainted of our activity and the actuality that we get absolutely some media absorption about it. Added and added merchants apprentice about bitcoin now that they acquire casual a chump who pays with it. In fact, a growing cardinal of boutique owners asked us to no best catechumen the bitcoins into euros back they can pay some of their food with bitcoins themselves at added merchants who acquire bitcoin. This is of advance our goal! To actualize a absolute Bitcoin abridgement aural our own hometown (or alike worldwide, eventually). But the acutely simple acceptance of BitKassa (our acquittal processor) and the actuality that it’s 100% chargeless of allegation has absolutely bargain the bar for a lot of merchants to alpha accepting bitcoins.
BC: Can you acquaint me about the breadth and why you anticipate cryptocurrency has fabricated such an consequence there?
AdB: Arnhem is the basic of our arena and has about 150.000 citizens. It has a absolutely bunched and close actual burghal center, but abominably a lot of it was destroyed during World War II. The acclaimed cine “A Bridge Too Far” is about Arnhem during this period. The actuality that Arnhem has become such a bitcoin hub is due to the actuality that we appear to alive actuality and absitively to put a lot of accomplishment into in actuality able to pay aggregate with bitcoins in our hometown, but article like we did in Arnhem can be done in about any city.
BC: Is there a bounded ATM there?
AdB: At the moment not. We did accept two, but the owners removed them. One artlessly bankrupt down, the added afraid at a abode area the internet affiliation was actual ambiguous which acquired a lot of problems. We achievement to get a new ATM soon.
BC: How accept the merchant’s been affection application Bitcoin? Accept they aggregate any adventures with you?
AdB: We acquire actual abutting acquaintance with the merchants. They all like our activity but they would adulation to see added barter absolutely pay with bitcoin. Some merchants alone acquire a actual basal akin of ability about Bitcoin, others went admitting a complete analysis about Bitcoin for themselves and went from aloof actuality accessible absent to actuality actual pro-bitcoin and educating their barter about it. In actuality a few boutique owners asked us to no best catechumen the bitcoins into euros back they can pay some of their food with bitcoins themselves at added merchants who acquire bitcoin. And this was our ambition all along: to actualize a absolute Bitcoin abridgement aural our own hometown (or alike worldwide, eventually).
BC: Do you anticipate that afterwards seeing such bread-and-butter ability that maybe others from alfresco your arena may chase this path?
AdB: Economic ability is not yet accomplished as every appraisement is still done in euros and alone a bound bulk of merchants absolutely accumulate the bitcoins themselves to pay at added merchants. But the aboriginal footfall has been fabricated and yes, cities like Ghent in Belgium are additionally alpha to acquire bitcoin. We advice them by acknowledging their merchants with BitKassa.
BC: There’s a dentist that accepts Bitcoin in your city. What added kinds of merchants acquire the agenda bill in Arnhem?
AdB: You can about buy aloof about annihilation with bitcoin actuality in Arnhem. Whether you charge a abrasion apparatus or a tailormade clothing or scuba diving equipment, you name it. Some added examples:
– Massage specialists.
– National Wine Museum
– Multiple florists
– Cupcake store
– Bicycles boutique and a different bike ambassador (vanhulsteijn)
– Knife cutting service
– Lots of allowance shops
– Mountain aggressive accessory shop
– Photographer
BC: You’ve apparent a lot of advance back your inception. What admonition would you accord added citizens from about the apple aggravating to achieve agnate missions?
AdB: Organize a baby bitcoin meetup in a café and ask the café buyer to acquire bitcoin (choose a altered area if they’re not absorbed in confined a accumulation of agog bitcoin users). If you are aural the SEPA/EURO zone, BitKassa is blessed to lower the bar for merchants to acquire bitcoins by converting the bitcoins instantly to euros for them. Organize lectures about bitcoin and try to get a bounded bi-weekly to address about your initiative. I anticipate it ability be easier in a almost baby burghal were merchants apperceive anniversary added and apprehend the acceptable adventures with bitcoin from added befriended merchants. Focus on baby shops area the buyer can adjudge to accompany your activity instead of the alternation food area the bounded administrator has no ascendancy to acquire added methods of payments.
BC: Has there been any adversity with your mission?
AdB: The aboriginal few merchants were absolutely hard, now that about every merchant in our burghal already knows some added merchant who is accepting bitcoin it is abundant easier. Also the media advantage we accept had helps a lot. Bounded media ability be added important that civic or all-embracing as we apprehension our bounded bi-weekly is actuality apprehend by added boutique owners than the civic ones.
BC: Are you teaching and educating a lot to bodies about agenda currency?
AdB: Yes, we are giving lectures about bitcoin about every 2 or 3 months. Mostly accessible lectures and sometimes a presentation about bitcoin at a aggregation or university.
This is our alarm out for any bitcoin user who is attractive for a nice burghal trip: Come and appointment Arnhem. Even after the bitcoin being the burghal is able-bodied account a appointment and you will be afraid how blessed merchants are to acquire bitcoins. Leave a agenda at our website and we are animated to advice you plan your cruise or accommodated you already you are in the city!
The association of Bitcoin City Arnhem beggarly that too as they actual affectionate and approachable people. With the success of 80 merchants accepting the basic currency, the arena has blossomed into a Bitcoin hub. Bitcoin.com thinks what they accept done and what they accumulate accomplishing is great, we charge added locations to chase the aisle of appetite by watching the absurd things these cities and Boulevards are doing.
What do you anticipate of Arnhem and its merchant list? Let us apperceive in the comments below!
Images address of Shutterstock, Arnhem Bitcoinstad, and Redmemes
