[2013-12-09] E15.cz - First shop accepts bitcoin in Prague

[de3mka]

http://euro.e15.cz/archiv/prvni-kamenny-obchod-v-cesku-prijima-bitcoiny-1044873

translation:

Men's luxury shoes shop will become a part of Czech bitcoin history. It is the first brick and mortar shop in the domestic market to accept bitcoins. Starting from last week it is possible to purchase shoes of different luxury brands like Church 's, Alden, Vass or Alfred Sargent for bitcoins. "Above all we want to attract young people. We were inspired by Western Europe. In Berlin or London you can pay this way normally" says shop owner Michal Kucera.

Mr. Kucera opened the store in Prague's part Ujezd last spring. He focused on brands which were missing in the portfolio of other stores. "We have a bitcoin wallet where we enter the price of the shoes, the system generates a price in bitcoins according to the current exchange rate and the customer can pay using a QR code", he explains how the transaction is carried out in practice. Acquired bitcoins are immediately exchanged back to crown or euro. "This helps to avoid loss incurred due to fluctuations of the exchange rate" he adds.

Until now it was possible to pay in bitcoins in Czech republic only while shopping online. During 6 years of existence digital currency has gained a favor among hundreds of thousands of people. Huge interest drives up the value of Bitcoin . Its price in the last two weeks got over a thousand dollars. Last Friday it was possible to buy one bitcoin (BTC) for $990 at one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges Bitstamp. While still at the beginning of this year the currency was traded for about fifteen dollars.

Bitcoin has gained many fans mainly because of it's anonymity. It's not possible to determine the identity of the owner. The second advantage is the independence of the central bank or other central authority. The disadvantage are large exchange rate fluctuations or hacker attacks .

There are clear rules on how the currency is issued, the supply is predetermined and can not be changed . Currently, there are nearly twelve million bitcoins in circulation worldwide

More and more positive news are flooding Czech press. E15 is a business focused magazine with 60 000 printouts daily. Adding to above news there is also the first pub serving beer accepting bitcoins since the beginning of December.

[bryant.coleman]

Oh god... this is not going to end well. The guy who stole all those BTCs from the Sheep Marketplace was originally from Prague, right?

[de3mka]

Oh god... this is not going to end well. The guy who stole all those BTCs from the Sheep Marketplace was originally from Prague, right?

Why spoiling good news with this shit?

There are two dimensions of bitcoin: one is people trying to take advantage of anonymity in black markets (and mostly these attempts finish badly either for market operators or black market users as history shows), and the other is the expansion of legitimate businesses. The news are to show the better side of bitcoin.... There were a lot of assholes around (pirateat40, naima, DPR, Tomas Jirikovsky) and there will still be, but the mass perception is what really counts.

[bryant.coleman]

Why spoiling good news with this shit?

My apologies. Just wanted to point out one of the risk factors. But still, how are they dealing with the volatility issue?

[de3mka]

Why spoiling good news with this shit?

My apologies. Just wanted to point out one of the risk factors. But still, how are they dealing with the volatility issue?

by doing this...

"We have a bitcoin wallet where we enter the price of the shoes, the system generates a price in bitcoins according to the current exchange rate and the customer can pay using a QR code", he explains how the transaction is carried out in practice. Acquired bitcoins are immediately exchanged back to crown or euro." This helps to avoid loss incurred due to fluctuations of the exchange rate" he adds.