Bitcoin Forum

We were going to wait to mention this (because their payment system might not be ready, today), but somebody already found the "BTC Accepted Here" stickers. We convinced the first Waves Coffee House to accept Bitcoin, and it's the biggest Waves in the franchise:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1170938_450006185098227_147177968_n.jpg

We're celebrating this occasion with Vancouver's first inaugural COINFEST! What is a CoinFest? From the event description:


Read how it works and learn more on our Facebook or Meet Up pages for this event.

MeetUp: http://www.meetup.com/bitcoinvan/events/135700322/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/305766732893569/

Added to OSM!

http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/node/638771020
http://coinmap.org/

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Riku is drinking the first tea ever purchased using Bitcoin at Waves Coffee House. Adam just finished teaching the staff how to use BitPay on a tablet device. They run everything behind the scenes.  :D Thanks for making COINFEST possible!

So I hear they've got these things now called washing machines.

You mean Adam? He came straight from a farm where he was building a cobb oven, so he's covered in clay. I didn't give him enough time to change. :P

We're going to fill you all in on the fun stuff we have planned so far.


Andrew Wagner is implementing the PHYSICAL BITCOIN FAUCET: every person attending this event who has never had a bitcoin, before, will get a small amount, maybe $1 worth. He could give more, possibly, depending upon whether or not CoinFest receives more sponsors/donors. People will love you for it, if you want to be named ;)


Thanks to a guy named Bryan Hellard, we will have a BITCOIN MINING DEMO: at this station, curious guests can see for themselves what Bitcoin mining looks like. So far, we have a block eruptor, laptop and Rasberry pi to show off.

Bryan is hoping to start group buys for mining equipment, and he says that if he pulls any profit in resale, he will donate 50% of that to the CoinFest. This means at least 25% of his profit would go directly to non-profit Bitcoin outreach. Not sure, yet, what Andrew will do with the other 25%, but it will probably help spread Bitcoin indirectly, somehow. He certainly won't be selling any of it for fiat. :)


Also, thanks to a guy named Matthew Sansom, we will have many choices of musician at the first CoinFest. Pick your favorite, and tip him well! We're using a busker system with QR codes. It will all be ambient or mellow, so as not to interfere with all the fascinating conversations.

Matthew also invited many people on Facebook, which is helping make it go viral faster, so the Bitcoin community owes him one. We might be forced to make him a more integral part of CoinFest in the future. ;)

This event received a generous donation from Bitcoiniacs, to keep the free Bitcoin faucet flowing. They will have a Bitcoin Store at this CoinFest! They will give you a great deal on Bitcoins that you can use to get discounts at this event. See their website: www.bitcoiniacs.com

We have probably around 100 people coming to the CoinFest. Maybe more? We'll find out, tomorrow. There's going to be a conference held from 12-3 PM, and Piotre Piasecki will be showing off some cool Casascius coins and give a way a few promos as freebees. New wallets with printed QR codes were prepared by MatchMaker and Riku from Bitcoin Co-op, who have been a lot of help. Also, check out the awesome AFTERPARTY:

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The most popular musician at the preceding CoinFest will play for us at around 9 PM. Various appetizers will be prepared for $15 worth of BTC, or $20 in fiat. You can learn more on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/570183719696691/

I wish I lived there!

Why do I have to live in Tarpon Springs where bitcoin is not accepted anywhere?

If we made a hotel take Bitcoin, would you come there? Practical question.

The CoinFest was a lot of fun, by the way. We gave away plenty of free bitcoins, and Piotre gave away some promo coins by Casascius. We had a mining demo, and a seminar, and some musicians. We had a camera guy, but we didn't get the footage, yet. Will report back, soon.

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/5/8/600_285601112.jpeg

CoinFest: Round 2 is here! On October 12, starting at 12:00 PM, Waves will host the second gathering of the CoinFest to celebrate new developments in the Bitcoin community. The occasion this time? The Bitcoiniacs have brought the world's first Bitcoin ATM to Vancouver, here at Waves Coffee House! Come see for yourself! On top of that, new businesses were signed up--like Old Ginger restaurant, thanks to SFU Bitcoin Club and the Co-op--and now you can witness all the new developments happening in Bitcoin land at COINFEST: Round 2. We've got way more exciting things to check out. There will be:

• The Coinfest physical Bitcoin Faucet, an offline Bitcoin giveaway service that provides free Bitcoins to stimulate the crypto-economy. Those who have never had any Bitcoin, before, can get a couple dollars' worth from the Faucet.

• The Faucet also provides the prizes and bolsters the prize pool in the Bitcoin Poker Games. We have games with small buy ins for people who just want to try out using bitcoins.

• An amazing race, in which competing teams must be first to complete tasks at each of the participating Bitcoin venues. The team to complete each task first wins a prize. The team to complete all of the tasks first wins a grand prize.

• Live ambient music from a volunteer musician playing in the background. If you enjoy it, please consider tipping the musician a little BTC for his or her hard work.

• Tables arranged for anyone who wants to set up demonstration booths for digital coin trading (altcoins are allowed), merchandise, or discussion about a service or cause. Accommodations will be chosen by and moderated at the discretion of the event organizer.

• The CoinFest Mining Demo Booth, a joint project between Bryan Hellard and CoinFest! He builds and demonstrates a Bitcoin mining rig that grows via a small take from each group buy made at CoinFest. Watch the Block Erupters multiply!

• 2 meeting rooms (1 large, 1 small), free for your booking any time during the event. Some activities may be given priority. If you have any ideas for a presentation, seminar, panel or discussion, start a comment thread about that idea or email me at a.j.wagner.89@gmail.com.

This event is a work in progress. The above guidelines are subject to change from one CoinFest to another as necessity demands. For more detailed information or to officially RSVP for this event, see it on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/163039953896809/
Meet Up: http://www.meetup.com/bitcoinvan/events/141440152/

Awesome! does this ATM open to the public??

What good is an ATM that the public can't use  ;)  The Bitcoiniacs will be installing it inside Waves, since it has decent hours, gets high traffic, and accepts Bitcoin. It will be kept there unless and until a more suitable location accepts Bitcoin.

We have a bunch of cards for the old Blenz venue that allow you to get two of any item for the price of one. Wayne is gone, and that Blenz has a new owner, and this owner has not yet been enlightened about Bitcoin. I will be giving away stacks of these cards at CoinFest for free, under the condition that you talk about Bitcoin when you go use them. I will be giving these cards away regularly until Blenz takes Bitcoin, again.  ;D



In other news, the Amazing Race is ready! Teams register and are told the rules around the starting time of CoinFest, and the race begins officially around 1 PM. Remember--no cars allowed! Public transit, only. All players must use Bitcoin for challenges that cost money (a dollar or two at most) to complete. Violators will be disqualified. Here is an updated list of the participating Bitcoin venues and their challenges:

India Gate - eat one 10X extra spicy samosa

Central Bistro - drink one shot

Old Ginger - each teammate eats 1 spicy springroll

Bitcoiniacs Bitcoin Store - receive a paper wallet containing a small amount of BTC

FreeGeek - go to the FreeGeek headquarters in Vancouver and correctly answer 5 questions given to your team by one of the Geeks

Participating venues might give you a token upon completion of their challenge; otherwise, I will confirm your completion via text message from a staff member.

The first team to complete all of the challenges will receive a prize consisting of FREE BITCOINS! Maybe $50 or $100 worth? Adam Soltys will be manning the CoinFest Physical Faucet, this time, so it depends on how generous he is feeling that day. I will try to butter him up with drinks, or something.



Lastly, we are proud to announce that representatives from Sensible BC and/or the Canadian Libertarian Party may be in attendance. The musicians are also back: an electric guitar performance will be provided by the infamous Chef.

A big thanks to everybody who came and enjoyed the CoinFest! Sorry we forget to get a Hangout running and to take pictures, again. If anybody has some, I will add them to the Meet Up and Facebook galleries.

Hush magazine and Vancity Buzz will likely write about the event, so let's upvote their articles on /r/Vancouver to hit the masses. Video footage was also taken and will be uploaded next week.

Also, congratulations to the skilled Bitcoiners who won the first Amazing Race! They got 0.5 BTC and some free bus tickets. Enjoy.

Check out this video of Bryan Hellard from the previous CoinFest: http://bitcoinvancouver.ca/2013/10/18/bitcoin-mining-2/

Our resident expert tells you everything you need to know about Bitcoin mining. A big thanks to David Lyle for the footage!