NEW RESEARCH CENTER OPENS IN SERBIA'S CAPITAL TO DRIVE BITCOIN INNOVATION

[Do or Die]

Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, welcomes the inception of HUB21, a pioneering non-profit association dedicated to education, fostering research, and creating networking avenues within the global Bitcoin design and development ecosystem, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The association's launch aims to bridge the gap in understanding and participation in Bitcoin within Serbia's burgeoning IT landscape.

Belgrade, known for its cultural vibrancy and historical innovation, is poised to attract foreign professionals, investors, and creative minds to engage with HUB21. While Serbia boasts a wealth of IT talent and has attracted international corporations, the absence of Bitcoin projects is apparent. Recognizing the transformative power of Bitcoin, HUB21 aims to train more aspiring programmers, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs to capitalize on the evolving interest in Bitcoin. source

[kryptqnick]

I've decided to check crypto status in Serbia, and it seems that mining and trading were officially legalized in 2021. I saw an article from March about the Belgrade Bitcoin hub, but it doesn't mention "Hub21". Is that the same hub, or is Hub21 something different? I assume it's a different thing (because it has a different name), but, in that case, how many crypto hubs are there in Serbia? And how is the overall crypto adoption going there? It's just a little hard to understand what's there to discuss without more insight into the situation.

[pawel7777]

I was always a bit puzzled about how such "hubs" generate income, as renting a (presumably large) office in the heart of Belgrade must be costly. I don't expect there will be many members paying fees (why would you need that at all) or any large number of donors.
As for this one, I can't even say if their official website, https://hub21.rs/ is meant to be serious or humorous, i.e. the "Our team" part is 4 photos of the same guy and 4 different nicknames and some spelling errors.

[OgNasty]

I was always a bit puzzled about how such "hubs" generate income, as renting a (presumably large) office in the heart of Belgrade must be costly. I don't expect there will be many members paying fees (why would you need that at all) or any large number of donors.
As for this one, I can't even say if their official website, https://hub21.rs/ is meant to be serious or humorous, i.e. the "Our team" part is 4 photos of the same guy and 4 different nicknames and some spelling errors.

The small amount of coins left for sale makes it so new users are extremely important for those who want to take the price to the next level. Big hubs like this definitely encourage learning about Bitcoin and likely bring people together to share ideas and build projects. Bitcoin is still small enough with such a limited supply that anything being built to take coins off the market could have a substantial impact.

[btc_angela]

I was always a bit puzzled about how such "hubs" generate income, as renting a (presumably large) office in the heart of Belgrade must be costly. I don't expect there will be many members paying fees (why would you need that at all) or any large number of donors.
As for this one, I can't even say if their official website, https://hub21.rs/ is meant to be serious or humorous, i.e. the "Our team" part is 4 photos of the same guy and 4 different nicknames and some spelling errors.

Yeah, but it seems that they intentionally did it, but if you are going to look at it,

Pavlenex -> https://twitter.com/pavlenex (at least different profile pics)
Johns -> https://twitter.com/johnsBeharry
Braj - > https://twitter.com/GhostBRAJ

Could be humor though, but in any case, good luck to the "team" and this non profit organization to make Belgrade another crypto-friendly nation.

[iBaba]

I've decided to check crypto status in Serbia, and it seems that mining and trading were officially legalized in 2021. I saw an article from March about the Belgrade Bitcoin hub, but it doesn't mention "Hub21". Is that the same hub, or is Hub21 something different? I assume it's a different thing (because it has a different name), but, in that case, how many crypto hubs are there in Serbia? And how is the overall crypto adoption going there? It's just a little hard to understand what's there to discuss without more insight into the situation.

I also came across similar or same March article on Bitcoin Magazine which mentioned the capital, Belgrade is now the latest working and presentation space for Bitcoin. I also learnt that the article was an opinion editorial of the founder of Belgrade Bitcoin Hub , a native of Serbia. I think it's more of a private business owner selling his new business venture and putting out the features of the new hub on the article.

Like he mentioned that:
“The hub features a large, communal, co-working/presentation room where most of the action will be taking place, with two additional rooms that we will outfit into a recording studio and a more private office space.

“At our disposal for visitors we have a variety of hardware wallets, a point-of-sale unit powered by BTCPay Server, a Bitcoin node and an Antminer S9 to experiment with the newest software being developed by the tenants of the space. For educational purposes, or to get extra inspiration, the hub has a small collection of Bitcoin literature for visitors to read.” Source.

This was majorly what I excerpted from the entire article and I think that tells the essence of the bitcoin hub established.
Whereas the HUB21, OP is talking about is another entirely different initiative that was unveiled this month. “A pioneering non-profit association dedicated to education, fostering research, and creating networking avenues within the global Bitcoin design and development ecosystem”. According to the source.

The buttomline is, these are two different platforms and initiatives by Serbians, one seems to be more of a profitable company while the other is a non-profit organization both poised at enhancing the bitcoin knowledge and network amongst the Belgrade community and Serbia at large.

[MusaMohamed]

Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, welcomes the inception of HUB21, a pioneering non-profit association dedicated to education, fostering research, and creating networking avenues within the global Bitcoin design and development ecosystem, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The association's launch aims to bridge the gap in understanding and participation in Bitcoin within Serbia's burgeoning IT landscape.

I don't know what is global Bitcoin design is.

From education to adoption, it is a long journey. Bitcoin can be accessed by everyone as it is easy to use a Bitcoin open source wallet. The challenge is regulation, law in that nation. Does government and central bank support Bitcoin, make it legal or prohibit it?

This is key for adoption as citizens will feel more fearful if Bitcoin and exchange, trade with Bitcoin is illegal, prohibited in the nation. They can have access to Bitcoin network, wallet and use it with Bitcoin blockchain but for trading Bitcoin, exchanging Bitcoin to cash or other things, it requires more friendly regulations from governments.

Only education is not enough.

[Die_empty]

Belgrade, known for its cultural vibrancy and historical innovation, is poised to attract foreign professionals, investors, and creative minds to engage with HUB21. While Serbia boasts a wealth of IT talent and has attracted international corporations, the absence of Bitcoin projects is apparent. Recognizing the transformative power of Bitcoin, HUB21 aims to train more aspiring programmers, artists, designers, and entrepreneurs to capitalize on the evolving interest in Bitcoin. source

Serbia has favourable laws that could attract many crypto investors. Mining and other crypto-related businesses are legal in this European country. The country has one the cheapest electricity prices in Europe and could also boast of the best internet facilities. Belgrade just like every other country faces misconceptions about the coin Bitcoin. They think citizens also experience issues of some so-called crypto investors presenting shitcoins to the public as bitcoin. From all indications, Belgrade needs positive crypto awareness to drive adoption.

HUB21, a non-profit organization is stepping in to bridge the information gap and also create platforms to attract investors and grow the needed manpower. The uniqueness of this organisation is that they are focusing on only Bitcoin. They are not like other organizations that don't have specific targets. And they want to achieve this aim of spreading the good news of Bitcoin by organising various enlightenment programs that would deepen the knowledge of interested people in bitcoin.

The activities of this NGO will give rise to self-employment which will help the government to earn more from taxes. Most governments have not understood the benefits of making the economy friendly to Bitcoin and other crypto-related businesses because they have failed to understand how to maximize the financial opportunity that crypto businesses offer. I wish HUB21 all the best and I am hoping that my country will benefit from them shortly.

[Lucius]

Serbia has favourable laws that could attract many crypto investors.

Do you mean those like Do Kwon who was hiding in that country quite legally and regardless of the fact that the whole world was looking for him? -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5446051.msg61986233#msg61986233

Mining and other crypto-related businesses are legal in this European country. The country has one the cheapest electricity prices in Europe and could also boast of the best internet facilities. 

Are these activities prohibited in other European countries? It is true that the price of electricity is among the lowest in Europe, but the question arises as to how high-quality and reliable the electricity network is, but also who needs to pay bribes and insurance to even start a crypto mining business in that country. Regarding the internet, what exactly do you mean by "best internet facilities"? Here you can see the speeds for individual countries in Europe.


A few more facts that do not speak in favor of that country being a safe business environment.

Their current absolute ruler, Aleksandar Vucic, a man who actively participated in wars of conquest from 1991 onwards and is jointly responsible for tens of thousands of people killed, for which he has never publicly apologized. In addition, it continues to engage in and encourage terrorism against neighboring countries.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-drafts-measures-against-serbia-as-belgrades-involvement-in-terrorist-attack-is-under-scrutiny/

[pawel7777]

The small amount of coins left for sale makes it so new users are extremely important for those who want to take the price to the next level. Big hubs like this definitely encourage learning about Bitcoin and likely bring people together to share ideas and build projects. Bitcoin is still small enough with such a limited supply that anything being built to take coins off the market could have a substantial impact.

Yeah, but how do they generate income to cover all the day-to-day running costs? Is the business model based on sponsors (be it large BTC holders or crypto-related businesses) that are hoping such hubs will grow the crypto-user base and drive up the demand? Sounds a bit far-fetched. I'd imagine there must be more than that, e.g. a hub attracts a large group of members or just crypto-enthusiasts (if there's no membership) and then a hub can get money from crypto-businesses for giving them access to the target audience (conferences, product presentations etc).