Bitcoin Forum

Hi there!

This is ROOM77 in Berlin, the restaurant at the end of capitalism :). You may have heard of us.

On Bitcoin Friday we will actually do much more than just offer discounts (23%) and free drinks (Pampero shots) to anyone paying in Bitcoin.

We have invited anyone being curious and interested about Bitcoin (consumers as well as merchants) to a day and night where they can meet experts from the Berliner Bitcoin Stammtisch and CECG to have Bitcoin explained, questions answered, get help installing software, actually buy Bitcoin and spend them again saving money. Well, to EXPERIENCE Bitcoin. This will be pretty big as after 1.5 years or so having Bitcoin here, people in the neighbourhood are pretty aware of it.

On the same day we will announce the (at least) 3 more places in the neighbourhood that start accepting BTC too on this very day, this being a major step towards the world's first Bitcoin-Kiez ('Bitcoin-Neighbourhood') and implementing it as an 'alternative local currency with global reach'.

Here's what I suggest to anyone outside of Berlin who would like to support this:

if you know someone in Berlin who you would like to invite for dinner (yes we supposedly make Berlin's best burgers according to restaurant critics but also serve other homemade Texan food) or drinks (beers, spirits, cocktails), just do so remotely!

Send them here and tell them to eat and drink and you pay their bill remotely from wherever you are!

This is not meant to make us profit (we grant 23% discount on bills paid in BTC that day plus getting drunk on Pampero rum if they want to for free) but to promote Bitcoin. You can make your friends aware of the new currency and remotely paid bills are always a nice way to give people a convincing experience with Bitcoin.

If you want to do so pls message me here or mail me on joerg at room77.de and let me know who you are sending over and I will make sure they will get a nice treatment. We are very well known in the community and a lot of people here will confirm to you that hardly anyone walks out of our bar without a smile on their face :).

To blockchain eternity and beyond!

Joe


Detailed thread in German to be found here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=122727.msg1321222#msg1321222

Our address here: www.room77.de

So... probably not reasonable for me to fly in, but damn I would love to.

Yeah me too! Germans rock!

Great concept! I will try to get couple of my non-bitcoin berlin friends there :)

Suck on that, Finland (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=108753.0)! :P

Since we're aiming at a more general audience, tell 'em about https://www.facebook.com/events/114600062033515/ ;)

I have no problem with you guys making profit :) Very great news!

Growth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB52xyaY4kk)! ;D

This is a great idea. I really wish I could be there.
To see peoples faces when their burger is instantly paid by a friend half a world away!
 :o

me and yossarian will be there to distribute the much needed coin ^^


this is me, happy to meet anyone from these boards:

https://i.imgur.com/i7eoL.jpg

Hi Joe I am very pleased to see what you are doing for Bitcoin in Berlin. I recently got my first chance to introduce Bitcoin to some willing newcomers here in Toronto and you will enjoy this experience. I think this would be a great opportunity to introduce them to WalletBit both as a merchant solutions provider and online wallet service. Email and regular Bitcoin transactions are free from your account with SMS transactions available for a nominal fee. At a flat rate 0.89% for Bitcoin deposits we offer the most affordable Bitcoin merchant solutions option. Our Mobile Checkout and WalletBit Mobile make it easy to access, accept and send Bitcoins anywhere in the world for any local currency equivalent. Because our service is html5 based it is available on most Android, Apple or any other htm5 enabled device.

WalletBit was founded in Denmark in July 2011. If you would like any more details or assistance, please feel free to PM me or contact us through the official channels on our website.

I'm still wondering whether the 0.89% include the currency conversion and forwarding the local currency to a SEPA account. This would be the only problem left. To accept payments, the merchants in question will most likely use Bitcoin Wallet for Android on their Android devices, which already includes a currency converter. And the fees are only 0.00%.

The Bitcoin-Kiez intends to use Bitcoin as a "local currency with global reach", so if everything works out, they'll be just using their sales in BTC to stock up on supplies or eat a nice dinner at one of the competitors places. :D So in the beginning, no fiat exchange will be needed. Unless sales skyrocket, I guess, which would be pretty awesome.

Is there any advantage using WalletBit compared to e.g. the Schildbach client for a small brick-and-mortar place?

if 0,89% included the conversion from BTC-->€ (at spot) and SEPA fees, this would actually be a decent offer.

The 0.89% is for receiving bitcoins only. We do not currently offer SEPA transfers but that could change soon. With WalletBit you get the advantage of having a detailed transaction record and innovative tools like the mobile checkout. Since WalletBit is a wallet service you can send the Bitcoins via email, SMS or the regular Bitcoin protocol. Our recently added sendto features also make it possible to send received Bitcoins instantly to another Bitcoin address. Since WalletBit is HTML5 based, it is compatible on any HTML5 enabled device.

Once you offer SEPA transfers, this will be a lot more convenient. Until then, it doesn't seem necessary for a POS to use your service just yet.

One of the major strong points of Bitcoin, at least for some people, is that no banks or other middle-men are needed. So it would seem kind of odd to convince somebody to accept Bitcoin, just to tell him that he has to sign up for a merchant service which charges 0.89% just to _process_  payments, when in fact this can be done for free and without a middle-man.

Remember, I'm talking about smaller shops or restaurants where every customer pays in person and all records are kept in some FIAT currency anyways.

I do have friends in Berlin and I definitely will stop by next time I'm there.  ;)

Just loaded some 'coin into my Android wallet, and about to head to Room 77 soon!

Any way we can see some pics? I am curious to see what it looks like.
P.S. I will likely be in Berlin this summer and pay you a visit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNbxuhgu5TA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNbxuhgu5TA)

Thank you World! (Not the whole world, just the user "World".)

you're welcome
There is a useful map https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Real_world_shops (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Real_world_shops)

OP has all the pics and will be posting them soon, including all the exciting news from Bitcoin Friday. Stay tuned! :D