Customer Feature: BitcoinPHL
BitcoinPHL has about 300 members, and they have a weekly meetup
Bitcoin has been a hot topic lately. And Philly happens to be a hotbed of Bitcoin related news and activity. And it's mainly due to a local user group called BitcoinPHL. Their goal has been to get more Philly businesses to accept Bitcoin. And so far they have been getting a lot of press, and that's lead to a lot of traffic to their Simplpost website.
The group meets to discuss the latest Bitcoin news and exchange information
It's usually an open discussion where anyone can ask questions or share their thoughts
The founders of this group include Kristov Atlas, Jason DiLuzio, Derrick Freeman and Sam Weinrott. To get the full story of this group, I asked them a few questions.
Kristov Atlas has just published a book titled "Anonymous Bitcoin"
How did BitcoinPHL get started?
We all started searching for local information and meetups online, and ended up getting together through meetup.com originally. And now we have a Facebook group as well that has almost 300 members. We first started meeting up once a week in Rittenhouse Square. And now we have weekly meetings Wednesday nights at 30th St. Station. Anywhere from 10-40 people show up each week. And we also organize other events at local businesses that accept Bitcoin, like Cavanaugh's Sports Bar.
We all started searching for local information and meetups online, and ended up getting together through meetup.com originally. And now we have a Facebook group as well that has almost 300 members. We first started meeting up once a week in Rittenhouse Square. And now we have weekly meetings Wednesday nights at 30th St. Station. Anywhere from 10-40 people show up each week. And we also organize other events at local businesses that accept Bitcoin, like Cavanaugh's Sports Bar.
Derrick Freeman runs a podcast called Peace News Now
What are your goals?
The main mission of BitcoinPHL is to educate people about what Bitcoins are and how to use them. We have been helping lots of local businesses get set up accepting Bitcoin payments from their customers. It's simply a matter of teaching them how it works, and how they can quickly set up the tools. For most businesses it's a no brainer to accept a new form of payment that takes less fees, and can help them get more business. We would like to see Philadelphia be the most Bitcoin friendly city in the world. It's the type of technological innovation that can really help to improve this city.
The main mission of BitcoinPHL is to educate people about what Bitcoins are and how to use them. We have been helping lots of local businesses get set up accepting Bitcoin payments from their customers. It's simply a matter of teaching them how it works, and how they can quickly set up the tools. For most businesses it's a no brainer to accept a new form of payment that takes less fees, and can help them get more business. We would like to see Philadelphia be the most Bitcoin friendly city in the world. It's the type of technological innovation that can really help to improve this city.
Sam Weinrott (left) started a t-shirt company Pirate Printing
What have you accomplished so far?
So far we have gotten about 20 local businesses to accept Bitcoin, and gotten a lot of publicity for them in the process. We teach them everything they need to get started, and events to bring them more business. We got the Philadelphia Brewing Company to start accepting Bitcoins and they received a good amount of press and new business as a result. The radio station WHYY interview Jason did also brought in a lot of attention from other media outlets. We are excited about the progress so far.
So far we have gotten about 20 local businesses to accept Bitcoin, and gotten a lot of publicity for them in the process. We teach them everything they need to get started, and events to bring them more business. We got the Philadelphia Brewing Company to start accepting Bitcoins and they received a good amount of press and new business as a result. The radio station WHYY interview Jason did also brought in a lot of attention from other media outlets. We are excited about the progress so far.
Jason DiLuzio (left) helps local businesses get started with Bitcoin
What's the future of Bitcoin in Philly?
The more consumers and businesses learn about Bitcoin the more they will be using it. We would love to see Bitcoin become even more popular around Philly. Two of our members who attend Wharton have a new startup to bring Bitcoin ATMs to the public at large. There's all kinds of projects like that developing and there's no limit to how much it can grow.
The more consumers and businesses learn about Bitcoin the more they will be using it. We would love to see Bitcoin become even more popular around Philly. Two of our members who attend Wharton have a new startup to bring Bitcoin ATMs to the public at large. There's all kinds of projects like that developing and there's no limit to how much it can grow.
The meetups are an easy way to safely buy and sell Bitcoins
Check out BitcoinPHL's Meetup Group and Facebook page if you would like to attend an event. Or read up on their site to learn more about Bitcoin.
