Bitcoin Forum

Bitcoin punks go corporate at CES
The underground currency goes mainstream at the biggest tech show in the nation


The controversial digital currency Bitcoin has a display at CES. It's a good-sized booth, featuring a giant picture of a smiling woman holding an iPhone running a Bitcoin app. Crystal Campbell, a waitress who works at an Orlando restaurant that accepts Bitcoin, greets curious conference-goers with a friendly but not overeager smile. "It's basically like the cash of the internet," she explained to a tall brunette who had heard of Bitcoin, but wasn't sure exactly what it was.

It was a surprisingly professional setup, considering that Bitcoin is a decentralized payments system with a robust but fragmented community. The $13,000 booth was paid for by Butterfly Labs, which makes the hardware used to create Bitcoins, and Bitpay, a startup that helps merchants accept the currency. Bitpay just raised $510,000 in funding from notable investors including Barry Silbert and Jimmy Furland of SecondMarket, Shakil Khan of Path and Spotify, and Roger Ver, an e-currency enthusiast who contributed his share of the round in Bitcoins.

About half the people who stopped by were already familiar with Bitcoin, Bitpay CEO Tony Gallippi told The Verge. He was optimistic about the investors, merchants, and Bitcoin users who had hit up the booth. There were two Bitcoin booths at CES last year, but they were smaller and stuffed into corners. This year's placement, across from an audio company and a startup showing off night vision goggles, was much more ideal. The team has been too busy schmoozing to try the night vision goggles.

This is all strange new territory for Bitcoin. Because isn't tied to any central authority, it's become popular among a certain set of technolibertarians.....