While opening a Bitcoin-themed bar sounds like a dream for many Bitcoiners, it also comes with its challenges, according to Adam (who didn’t share his last name), the founder of Satoshi’s Place.
Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall visited a Bitcoin-themed pub called Satoshi’s Place and sat down with its founder. The duo talked about the history of the place, how it came to be, and the difficulties of running a Bitcoin business in the UK.
According to Adam, he first got started in Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013. Five years later, he opened a coffee shop and breakfast shop that accepted Bitcoin payments with its own Bitcoin ATM. Back then, the founder highlighted that they did not have the Bitcoin Lightning Network and had to wait a bit for payments to go through. He explained that:
“That was literally the first layer. It wasn’t fast, it was slow. But I mean, it was only small amounts anyway. So we just let the user sit and watch the transaction and stuff.”
After a while, the coffee team did some testing over the years, but had difficulties in terms of adoption and problems with their bank. “I had a bank account here that was locked up for about a year just for accepting Bitcoin payments”, said. Adam pointed out that even though everything was properly documented and presented to the banks, his accounts were still blocked.
Despite the problems they faced, the founder said they were still going. From being just a coffee shop, the place started offering pizzas in honor of Bitcoin Pizza Day. Eventually, the venue also offered workshops for those who wanted to learn about Bitcoin. “Everything from Lightning education, Bitcoin for kids, Bitcoin development, all the different types. There are about 16 hosts that I have so far who want to do workshops”Adam pointed out.
After the growth of the workshops and the reception of Bitcoin in the area, the founder eventually turned the place into Satoshi’s Place, in celebration of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator. The venue offers a Bitcoin-themed atmosphere with hand dryers emitting heat from a Bitcoin miner.
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