OMAHA—Nearly 40 Bitcoin enthusiasts and organizations gathered Monday at Blue Sushi in the Old Market for the first annual Bitcoin Day Omaha.
The event, sponsored by local Bitcoin startups Alpha Bitcoin and BlockchainIO, hoped to increase awareness of this digital currency in the Omaha area.
The day began with educational talks on Bitcoins. Paul Oliver from Alpha Bitcoin went over the basics, Ansel Lindner of BlockchainIO talked about the social, political aspects and the future of the currency and Matt McKeever, a local attorney talked about the legal impacts of the relatively new, decentralized digital currency.
In the afternoon, a scavenger hunt took attendees around the Old Market, where participants set up a Bitcoin wallet and completed transactions at businesses like Big Brain Tattoo, Goldsmith Silversmith, the Tint Shop, Copple Rockey Law Firm, BitAccess, Vine & Branch, Cupcakes Omaha! and Le Wonderment in hopes of winning Bitcoin prizes for their newly-established wallets.
Afterwards Alpha Bitcoin announced there will be a Bitcoin ATM (below) in Omaha, although the location is to be determined. It will allow Bitcoin users to swap dollars for Bitcoins and visa versa. Attendees were able to make transactions, buying Bitcoin through the BTM or withdrawing Bitcoin as cash.
“Our goal was to educate people, and encourage them to use it, and hopefully find out who’s interested in Bitcoins and how we can help them,” said Bethann Weniger, Director of Marketing at Alpha Bitcoin.
Alpha Bitcoin has been around since January and has helped 20 Omaha businesses, including Big Brain Tattoo and PizzaWest in Ralston, begin accepting Bitcoins as currency.
Bitcoins were created in 2009 under the alias of Satoshi Nakamoto (Satoshis are now the smallest possible unit of Bitcoin). Each Bitcoin is currently worth around $475, and its value has risen dramatically over the years. In one instance, a man in Norway bought $27 worth of Bitcoins back in 2009, forgetting about his purchase until late 2013 when they were worth $886,000.
Bitcoins have come under scrutiny for their anonymous nature, perhaps most famously in 2013 when The Silk Road, an online marketplace where drugs and hitmen could be purchased using Bitcoins, was shut down by the FBI.
“There are certain parts of Bitcoin you can’t regulate, and then there are parts that you can, so we’re not sure where that’s going yet,” Weniger said.
One of the biggest challenges her business faces is that most of the general public is not aware or has a very limited knowledge of Bitcoins, she said.
“The demographic that uses Bitcoin is like 32-year-old male libertarians,” Weniger said. “It’s a pretty narrow demographic and so we weren’t sure who was going to come, who was interested, how to advertise because we weren’t sure which groups we were reaching out to exactly.”
Blockchain IO founder Ansel Lindner says many people won’t be convinced of the advantages of Bitcoins until they use them for the first time.
“People don’t quite get it until they send their first transaction,” Lindner said. “I think that changes a lot of people’s minds.”
Both Weniger and Lindner speak of the many benefits of Bitcoins, including the elimination of a third party such as a bank or a credit card company, which cuts down on merchant fees for businesses.
Another benefit is the speed at which transactions are processed, as well as security, since Bitcoin accounts can’t be accessed by anyone but the owner.
Other groups in attendance included Bitcoin Trader, a Toronto-based Bitcoin trading company, and Kryptoz, a media company from Edmonton, Alberta, which promotes businesses that accept Bitcoins.
There were several visitors from Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, as well as students, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and professionals from the payment industry were also represented.
The date of this event was chosen because it corresponded with Kryptoz’ North American Bitcoin Car Giveaway Tour, where participants can sign up to win a 2014 Kia Soul. Kryptoz is currently on the third leg of their tour, and the winner of the car will be announced at the West Edmonton Mall on Dec. 6.
Credits: Photo by Darcy Hobbs.
