Bitcoin runs the world: Traveling to 40 countries in 400 days with BTC

March 16, 2022 Coin Telegraph

A runner and Bitcoin hodler from India is on a mission to travel to 40 countries in 400 days using Bitcoin only.

A fast-moving Bitcoiner has run through 7 of 40 countries on his Bitcoin-powered marathon around the world.

Paco the Runner, also known as Paco de la India, set off on Sept. 17, 2021, paying for his entire running trip thanks to all the Bitcoiners around the world. He’s showing that “Bitcoin gives everyone freedom in the way they desire it.”

*Buying an icicle for Sats early on his journey. Source: Twitter*

Paco went from “living a lie on the fiat standard,” to traveling the world living off Bitcoin (BTC) only when a dear friend gifted him the book, The Bitcoin Standard. The reading and subsequent conversations with friends about money and the nature of the world led him down the Bitcoin rabbit hole.

He told Cointelegraph that “once you see it, you can't unsee it." He’d been orange pilled:

“It was a full moon night and my friend asked, do I wanna travel the world? I said yes. He says you have to travel on Bitcoin.”

From that moment onward, Paco’s travel plans morphed into a "Bitcoin awareness, mass adoption, and showing the kindness of humans” campaign. He documents the journey and every Bitcoin transaction via travel vlogs and social media updates.

He is keen to “share Bitcoin with people from different walks of life is a blessing. To be able to share the importance of bitcoin compared to shit coins with everyone is like one of the best works.”

So far he has successfully lived off BTC through the first seven countries of his travels. He only uses "cash for public transport." Nonetheless, the Bitcoin-only journey has not been without hitch.

While visiting Sri Lanka, he lost his “room keys and the hotel owner was upset.”

“I requested for a spare copy and ran to a neighboring town, and there was no electricity. Finally, it came and I asked him will he accept Bitcoin, he said yes. LIKE WTF. BITCOIN KEY MAKER.”

*Paco with the room key he paid for with Sats. Source: Twitter*

He also recalls the moment he arrived at the Koh Samui in Thailand, an island known for its anti-Bitcoin sentiment. He was scared as it was a new island, 100 km big. Panic set in as Paco thought to himself, how I am going to live on such a large island with no money?

Fortunately, he started walking the island and "In 200 meters I saw a sign that said the place accepts Bitcoin. Like the universe conspired for this to happen.”

There’s also:

“A train ride in India and my neighbor had a Trust wallet, gave him few sats and got me dinner for the night. A guide in India, [who I] convinced him to accept Bitcoin. [In] Cambodia, I went for a pub crawl ad paid for it on Bitcoin.”

The list goes on and on: a banana bread baker in Cambodia, “haircuts, burgers, Tuk-tuk, Dentists,” even a “silver coin” paid for with BTC.

*A Tuktuk, a guide and Banana Bread in Siem Reap, Cambodia - all paid for with Bitcoin. Source: Twitter*

It’s not easy, but Paco recommends that for other aspirational Bitcoin travelers, it’s best to start small:

“Orange pill your neighbor, your favorite shop, bar, cinema, start sharing your sats. It's easy for them to learn from a known face like yours. Be that little pebble that you throw in the lake and it will create ripples that coming generations will benefit.”

In the meantime, Paco will continue his runs around the world, meeting Bitcoiners and pre-coiners while spending Sats. He concludes, "every step you take now will shape your future."

Auctioneer willing to sell $70M artwork for BTC or ETH

March 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Auctioneer willing to sell M artwork for BTC or ETH

Art

A leading U.S. auction house, Phillips is auctioning a Baqueirat collection in May. Accepted payment options include Bitcoin and Ether.

In further signs of crypto adoption among the art world, a leading United States auction house will accept crypto as payment for a series of paintings. A Jean-Michel Basquiat collection is up for auction by Phillips, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) listed as payment options.

The showstopper 16-foot painting, Untitled, 1982, is “estimated in the region of $70 million” (roughly 1650 BTC or 25,513 ETH). It will go under the hammer in New York on May 18th.

Scott Nussbaum, Senior International Specialist, 20th Century & Contemporary Art from Phillips told Cointelegraph that buyers “are interested in the option of cryptocurrency as a method of payment for traditional artworks.”

*The Baqueirat painting. Source: Phillips*

Given that “the beauty of Basquiat is his ability to inspire both seasoned and new collectors,” extending “the option for buyers to pay in cryptocurrency,” is a deft move. Ultimately, Nussbaum explains, accepting cryptocurrency as payment for other works “will only continue to increase.”

Nussbaum told Cointelegraph:

“The interest in cryptocurrency and NFTs from the traditional art world is growing rapidly. And though it’s impossible to predict the future, we believe the intersection of digital and traditional art worlds will only continue to flourish.”

It’s not the first time that the auction house has explored cryptocurrency, although the previous sale was an order of magnitude smaller. In June 2020, Phillips auctioned a Banksy piece, Bitcoin and Ether as accepted payments. It sold for roughly $3.2 million.

Coincidentally, a price target for the Basquiat of around $70 million is the hammer price for the infamous Beeple NFT auction, which closed in March 2021. Christie’s auction house managed the sale, inspiring further cryptocurrency-related auction house activities.

In November 2021, rival auctioneers Sotheby’s took ETH bids in real-time for a Banksy auction. In May of the same year, Sotheby’s partnered with Coinbase to manage auctions in Bitcoin and Ether before taking charge of crypto payments in-house.

Nussbaum sums up the fashion for cryptocurrencies in the art world, explaining that “there are many new collectors who are very engaged in cryptocurrency.”

“It was only a matter of time before it would be of interest as a method of payment.”

Not taking the time to learn about BTC is ‘Europe’s biggest risk,’ says Belgian MP

February 16, 2022 Coin Telegraph

belgium

The Brussels Minister who puts his entire €5,500 salary into Bitcoin on the first of every month sat down with Cointelegraph to discuss Bitcoin.

Christophe De Beukelaer is the first European politician to convert his entire salary to Bitcoin. He kicked off 2022 with the bold move, hoping to raise awareness about Bitcoin and alternative monetary models, financial education and to get people talking.

De Beukelaer first got into Bitcoin and blockchain in 2017, and foresees a future in which Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies play a role as a “counterpart to the traditional financial world.” He gave an interview to Cointelegraph to delve deeper into his vision for Bitcoin and his motivations behind being paid in Bitcoin (BTC).

When asked about how long it took to get to grips with Bitcoin and “go down the rabbit hole,” De Beukelaer said that not taking the time to learn about the protocol is

“One of the biggest risks we have in Europe for the moment.” He explained:

“The political people don't take time for this journey. They are very busy with the day to day administrations of the cities and the countries, but they don't stop and say, OK, what's happening now? What are the big evolutions coming in the next 10, 20, 50 years? And that's the job.”

The 34 year old Brussels Minister conceded that the lack of awareness surrounding the cryptocurrency and Bitcoin space is a “big problem,” and that if Europe doesn’t get its hands dirty with the cryptocurrency space then “Asian the US will decide everything.”

In his view, being paid in Bitcoin is an excellent way of raising awareness about the space and as a professional European official, the act brings another layer of credibility to the space.

When pushed on a Bitcoin price prediction for 2022, he masterfully dodged the question, joking that 2022 would provide “an incredible performance.”

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