Imagine a city where every business accepts Bitcoin. Walkdown the street and buy a hot dog from a street vendor, enjoy a few beers atthe pub next door, and take a cab home – all paid for with cryptocurrency. Nomore coins jangling around in your pocket, no more credit card or overdraftfees.
The Dutch city of Arnhem is close to making that happen – ifonly for a single day.
Three Bitcoin enthusiasts have organized a Bitcoincity Dayon Wednesday, May 28th, convincing over a dozen local restaurantsand bars to accept cryptocurrency for a day to promote Bitcoin awareness.
“Because of all the stories in the media about Bitcoin speculation one wouldalmost forget that it is a fantastic wayto pay!” the event website exclaims.
Bitcoin owners, users, fans and the Bitcoin-curious areinvited to come to the city (located an hour by train from Amsterdam or 30minutes from Utrecht) to spend their bitcoins at the 15-plus restaurants andcafes that have agreed to participate.
A couple of the restaurant owners have even announcedspecial menu items in celebration, like Miner’s Menu and Bitcoin Bowl, according to cryptocurrencynews site Bitcoin Owl.
The fun begins at 17:45, when event participants gather atthe Café Brasserie Doduk for a short introduction on Bitcoin and the conceptbehind the Arnhem Bitcoincity. From there, there is no plan: “our aim is toventure into Arnhem’s city center…to visit the participating venues in noparticular order, have some informal conversations on the way and have a goodtime,” the event site says.
The organizers are also putting on a contest for the night:the most active Bitcoiner (defined as the contestant who visits the mostparticipating establishments and pays in bitcoins) wins some Bitcoin-themedswag and a €150 voucher for Dutch food-delivery website. Second- and third-place prizes will also be available for €75 and €25 each.
Don’t have any Bitcoins? Run out after binging too heavilyon Bitcoin-financed burgers and beer? Luckily, there will be a Bitcoin ATMtemporarily installed at the local Café de Koopman to accept euro banknotes.The Bitcoincity idea follows on the heels of a similar event(Bitcoin Boulevard) that took place in the Hague in March, which also sawcryptocurrency-bearing participants visiting area bars and restaurantsaccepting Bitcoin for the day.
If you’ve been craving a jaunt to the Netherlands, thiscould be a good reason to go. Event details can be found here.