I was scrolling through youtube this morning and was surprised to find a video about bitcoin adoption in Bari, Italy. My ancestors are from this region, and I still have distant relatives living there, so I was intrigued. The video was a little disappointing, since it was really focused on two rarely used atms. Still, there was mention of a few businesses that accept bitcoin.
I next found this article about a geyser fundraiser in the Italian Alps:
https://europeanbitcoiners.com/a-new-bitcoin-community-in-the-italian-alps/
It seems like a new project, and I don't know if there is a real commitment to develop a community there, but it seems promising. Maybe @JoeNakamoto will take a look!
A few years ago I visited a tiny, impoverished village which was practically deserted in the Abruzzi mountain region. Real estate was so cheap it was practically free. I remember thinking that this isolated community would be perfect for an economic revitalization through a bitcoin circular economy.
Are there any stackers from Italy who can give us a sense of bitcoin adoption there?
You definitley have to visit "Bitcoin Valley" in Rovereto, Trentino. It's just a short train north of Verona and can be comfortably reached from Milan, Florence or Venice in a day trip. There's tons of merchant adoption there, and if you have a bit more time you can also find the wonderful Bitcoin Brescia community. They don't have as much merchant adoption but a cool hacker space. There are lots of small meetups all around Italy, called "Satoshi Spritz," typically on Fridays, in some areas even weekly.
Lugano is technically not part of Italy, but it's still worth a visit if you're in the region and want to use Bitcoin. Adoption isn't as organic as in Rovereto or Breschia, but it's still a fascinating case study. Buon viaggio!
Interesting. I wish we had a comprehensive list of all these bitcoin communities around the world. I think doing the next satsraiser for bitcoin community projects is a good idea and we just split the sats amongst them.
Do you speak Italian Siggy?
I don't speak a word of Italian. I can curse fluently in bastardized Brooklyn Italianese.
Good idea re Satsraiser. That's what got me exploring.
I shall now regale you with my vast knowledge of the Italian language.
Bitcoin, molto bene.
Fiat, molto male.
I know a few curse words as well.
That's all you need.
I think it is one of the countries where Bitcoin has been most adopted in Europe along with Portugal, and the Spanish could learn a little from their neighbors.
Bitcoin wiki page was started on a "it" domain https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page long time ago...
Italians are ahead of everyone in this.
https://m.stacker.news/35558
This is it
Where? How? I am from a pretty big city from northern Italy and travel quite a lot around the country, I had the opposite experience.
https://btcmap.org/map#6/42.52880/11.75537
Looks good in theory, but when I tried to visit a couple of places on that map they told me something like “sorry mate, we tried once but actually don’t do that anymore”.
Unless the owner is quite young / tech savvy and doesn’t mind doing a transaction below the counter, I suppose…
Yes that is true. Many shops that initially were accepting BTC later they drop it.
Happen even with shops that I myself I onboard them, but later they changed the personnel etc...
I really think that Bitcoin is not for everybody, only for the brave.
I have heard about places that are giving away houses.
All you have to do is rebuild them.
Yes, but I don't think renovating a house in Italy is easy or quick. Lots of bureaucracy. Also, it's expensive.
Oh really?
I thought it would be pretty simple?
I know they are older style houses, lots of stucco.
I'm by no means an expert. I'm just going on what I have heard. Maybe someone with personal knowledge can chime in.
I thought USA laws were kind of strict.
I didnt think others would be.
What about Rome? I remember I read that Rome is becoming a hotspot for Bitcoin.
That video I watched about Bari mentioned that Rome had about 100(?) businesses that accept bitcoin. I'm not sure about the number.
There's some Roverato as well. This is called the Bitcoin valley in Italy.
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/real-users-italian-mountain-town-everyone-knows-about-bitcoin
I've looked into citizenship by descent recently and would like to have a place there post-moon... someone on my team also grew up there and planning a move back.
All the Lugano Bitcoin stuff, while technically Switzerland, is just over the border from the Milan area and there's lots of solid Bitcoiners in the region. Will be following this project...
I looked into that a while ago. I believe I qualified, but never followed through.
I can confirm that Bitcoin adoption is very low, not only in rural villages but also in northern cities. A notable exception is the province of Bolzano (in the Trentino region) there it’s going pretty okay with a few ATMs and businesses adopting bitcoin as a payment form.
Whenever I visit my hometown (I live abroad) I try to orange-pill as many friends as possible, but the amount of resistance that I encounter every time is unbelievable.
I guess the real issue is that financial education still has a long way to go for the average Italian dude, so Bitcoin is (unfortunately) mostly out of the picture.
Oh neat you're from Bozen? Have you been able to visit Rovereto recently?
Nope, but it’s on my list. And nope, not exactly from that region but pretty close
Thanks for the information.
Buying, trading, and storing cryptocurrencies in Italy is legal. Italy has 8 trusted exchanges available for you to sign up for, with the most popular being Coinbase and Binance. Binance Holdings Ltd. has received regulatory approval for a local entity from Italian authorities, It is estimated that 1.33 million people, 2.26% of Italy's total population, currently own cryptocurrency.The Mediterranean country had 78 cryptocurrency withdrawal machines across the country. They are different from traditional cash machines in that they do not connect to a bank account but connect users to a Bitcoin wallet or exchange.
Italy is way more ahead in adoption numbers than US...
US people are fucking cowards, using VISA cards as a way to "pay with bitcoin". They will NGMI.
Lugano is very close to Lake Como, Italy and there is almost no adoption there. I just came back from Bellagio, Varenna, & Menaggio is positioned to be an excellent place for bitcoin adoption. So many tourists and avenues for there that are from all countries around the world. It's only an hour away from Lugano, why no adoption?!
Love the idea and love Jeff (the bitcoiner behind the initiative!)
I will visit eventually..!
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The town I'm talking about lost most of its younger generation to bigger cities. You're probably right. The remaining older generation are set in their ways.
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