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Colombian Bitcoiner aims to orange-pill coffee lovers one bean at a time

Coin Telegraph
Colombian Bitcoiner aims to orange-pill coffee lovers one bean at a time
Bitcoin Circular Economy

The CEO of Lightning Koffee launched the coffee startup in October with the aim of onboarding Medellín's businesses to Bitcoin.

José Luis Garcia is a coffee-lover and entrepreneur trying to make his mark in the city of Medellín — the birthplace of Colombia’s modern coffee industry.

Since the October launch of his start-up Lightning Koffee, Garcia has two goals in mind: Make a decent cup of joe and spread the word about Bitcoin (BTC).

His coffee beans — which he's called “The Bitcoiners Coffee” — are sourced and processed locally and are known for having a sweet after-taste.

Garcia believes his Colombian coffee can serve as a bridge for his fellow Paisas (Medellín locals) to lessen their reliance on the unpredictable Colombian peso and lean more toward adopting Bitcoin.

“We have the best coffee in the world and I want my coffee brand to spread the word about Bitcoin so that other businesses will begin to receive it too,” Garcia said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

He added it would “help drive the Bitcoin circular economy” — where only Bitcoin is traded in exchange for goods and services.

Lightning Koffee currently doesn’t accept fiat but does accept other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. However, Garcia said he’s a self-confessed maxi and wastes no time converting other tokens to Bitcoin.

“If a person is going to pay me in shitcoins I will accept it because, at the end of the day, it is money. Then I convert it immediately into Bitcoin which is what I'm interested in.”

Garcia said he’ll soon start taking fiat payments through the likes of Mastercard and Visa at which time he plans to stop taking cryptocurrencies that aren't Bitcoin.

Lightning Koffee joins other Medellín businesses bringing together crypto and consumables. In June 2022, Mind Cafe, or “Crypto Cafe,” was one of the first cryptocurrency-focused restaurants in El Poblado, the tourist area of Medellín.

In addition to accepting Bitcoin and Lightning payments, the cafe offers its customers the opportunity to immerse themselves in a metaverse-themed environment where they can build their own avatars and buy a coffee or some traditional Colombian food with Bitcoin.

Garcia is part of a group of local Bitcoiners that have come together to help promote Bitcoin’s circular economy in the city — and more newcomers are popping up every month.

“The crafty things we're doing are meetups with other Bitcoiners and people in the city of Medellín,” Garcia said.

Bram Kumuly, an independent Lightning developer who once lived in Medellín, told Cointelegraph he felt a “new energy” amongst the Bitcoin community on his last visit to the city — making him optimistic that Bitcoin's presence there will remain long-term.

A Bitcoiner meetup in Medellin in June. Source: José Luis Garcia

However, Kumuly acknowledged that a wider crypto, nonfungible token (NFT) and blockchain culture exists in Medellín whose values aren’t necessarily aligned with traditional Bitcoiners.

Some Colombians yet to see the orange light

Unfortunately for Medellín's Bitcoiners, it’s been a tough time convincing everyone of Bitcoin's merits.

Kumuly mostly attributed this to Colombians not understanding how money works, how the Colombian peso is failing them and how Bitcoin offers an alternate solution.

“Most people there still think Bitcoin is about trading and getting rich quick,” Kumuly said, adding many don’t realize Bitcoin could be a financial tool that can take power and control away from the politicians that many Colombians have little faith in.

This knowledge gap is reflected in Bitcoin’s staggered circular economy in Medellín which is still confined to Bitcoiners and isn't "very strongly or visibly expanding," says Kumuly.

"There might be more places accepting it, but currently, only six places that accept Bitcoin are marked on BTC Map and it has been like this for a long time already with no growth.”

There are currently 106 stores in Colombia that accept Bitcoin as payment which lags behind the most Bitcoin-friendly country in the region of El Salvador with its 451 stores, according to BTC Map.

106 stores accept Bitcoin in Colombia. Source: BTC Map

Kumuly said the lion’s share of Bitcoin spending has come from digital nomads and foreigners with little ongoing local presence. Meanwhile, on the merchant side, Kumuly said businesses are still reluctant to accept Bitcoin because of its price volatility.

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There are signs of life on the technical side of Bitcoin and Lightning development in Medellín which could increase Bitcoin spending in the area, says Kumuly.

He said Medellín-based Bitcoiners need to push momentum by building on Bitcoin culture to potentially win over customers and merchants.

He believes what Medellín needs as a next step are "local Bitcoin-only tech companies who build Bitcoin products for the people and merchants of Medellín/Colombia, and that are up-to-date on a technological level.”

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Shiba Wings customers love the food, not so much the crypto, says owner

Coin Telegraph
Shiba Wings customers love the food, not so much the crypto, says owner
Coin Telegraph

The SHIB-themed diner serves hot wings, burgers and cocktails, but despite the branding, still trades mostly in fiat.

After a grand opening in March, Australian fast-food diner Shiba Wings has seen plenty of customers walking through the doors for their fried delectables. 

Their appetite, however, hasn’t translated to crypto payments.

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) themed diner first opened its doors in Australia’s beachside city Surfers Paradise on March 18, 2023.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, the pseudonymous owner of the diner, “Elijah,” said their first week saw roughly $168 (250 Australian dollars) worth of crypto payments. In the months that followed total crypto payments dropped off, falling to an average of around $34 (50 Australian dollars) per week.

Shiba Wings diner. Source: Paradise Centre.

Most of these payments have been Shiba Inu, followed by Dogecoin (DOGE) and then Cardano (ADA).

However, Elijah doesn’t believe this is a cause for concern, stressing that crypto payments themselves aren’t the focal point of the business. Instead, Elijah said he's more focused on serving up good quality food and building the Shiba Wings brand itself.

“[Crypto payments] were more of an add-on feature. You generally don't want to be using your crypto to make payments, or you’ll end up like that Bitcoin guy that bought the Pizzas.”

“I actually advise people not to spend lots of crypto here. I say ‘listen I would keep that, probably not a coin you'd want to use on food, maybe use a different one that you hold a lot more of,’” Elijah said.

Elijah said his goal was to use the crypto element as a way to create a fast food franchise that could compete with McDonalds, mainly by leveraging the Shiba Inu brand.

The Shiba Inu community has a large, international following. At the time of publication, the Twitter accounts for the Shiba Inu Token and the Shib Army flex a combined audience of more than 4.1 million followers.

“I bought the Intellectual Property rights to Shiba Inu in Australia,” Elijah said, noting that he plans to leverage the ownership of the logo and associated branding materials to launch a series of Shiba Wings franchises by the end of the year.

“My goal is to create the next fast food franchise concept to compete against a Maccas, but obviously giving it a very different feel and spin, having the crypto element as an innovation in the fast food space.”

Elijah also pointed to Shiba Wings’ upcoming NFT release which will allow for holders to own a share of the business itself. Elijah says that the NFT rollout will see “15% ownership of every restaurant given to the community,” essentially making them quasi-shareholders which will see them be paid quarterly dividends.

He added that there will soon be a separate Shiba Wings token that will also provide holders with in-store benefits.

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According to an August, 2022 survey from crypto exchange Crypto.com, 55% of Australian merchants and consumers were interested in purchasing goods and services in cryptocurrency, with almost half (47%) of all surveyed merchants saying that they were ready to accept crypto payments within a year.

Interest in pursuing crypto payments from merchants and consumers in Australia. Source: Crypto.com

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