Happy tenth birthday Bitcoin! On January 3rd, 2009, Bitcoin’s code was released to the world by Satoshi Nakamoto. To this day, Nakamoto is still anonymous. It is not known whether Nakamoto is a he, she, group of people, or space aliens. However, what is known is that before completely disappearing from public view, Nakamoto turned over the keys to Bitcoin to his chosen successor, libertarian computer programmer Gavin Andresen . Andresen denies being Nakamoto, however he’s one of the most important people in the history of cryptocurrency.

In 2011, Andresen came to Keene for the first time and met with the hosts of a certain libertarian radio show, Free Talk Live, to tell them all about Bitcoin. I am one of the hosts of that show. When we spoke on-air about Bitcoin, Roger Ver, then a successful dealer of computer memory and advertiser on Free Talk Live, was listening. Ver saw the vision and spent tens of thousands of dollars buying Bitcoin (BTC) when it was under $1 each. Today one BTC is worth nearly $4,000. As a result of his early success, investments in multiple Bitcoin-related companies, and his constant advocacy of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a way to undermine the power of the state, Ver became known as “Bitcoin Jesus”.

Not long after, Ver came to Keene to the local libertarian meetup and gave away 10 BTC to anyone willing to install a bitcoin wallet on their phone. This was when BTC was worth around $1 each.

Keene has always been a cryptocurrency hotspot. Not only have some of the key players been here in physical reality, it’s also arguably the top location in the world for the highest concentration of bitcoin-accepting businesses. Though this year Portsmouth challenged us and for a time had more businesses accepting crypto, Keene has once again surpassed its Seacoast sister city. Plus, Portsmouth excelled in the first place because Keeniac Derrick J Freeman and his partner Steven Zeiler made it happen by launching merchant crypto provider Anypay. Derrick J originally settled in Keene when he moved here as part of the NH Freedom Migration.

Keene’s first business to accept cryptocurrency was the century-old, main street icon Corner News, taking bitcoin all the way back in 2013. Now a variety of businesses including various restaurants and food trucks, a dentist, automotive repair, web design, computer sales, advertising venues, and more all accept multiple cryptocurrencies. Our concentration of crypto-accepting businesses per-capita is higher than anywhere else in the world, that I can find. We handily defeat major cities like San Francisco and New York City by multiple factors.

With regular meetups every six days and ongoing cryptocurrency giveaways promoted in mainstream media , there’s no place on the planet quite like Keene.

Earlier this Fall we even launched the Bitcoin Embassy New Hampshire at 661 Marlboro St. in Keene and today we were honored to have Andresen come visit the Embassy, on the eve of the tenth birthday of Bitcoin! It wasn’t Andresen’s first time in Keene since his initial visit in 2011, as he also appeared in 2015 at the final Keenevention on the Bitcoin panel.

The Bitcoin Embassy is offering “Bitcoin 101” classes and they’ll schedule one whenever is convenient for you. There is no cost to attend, though donations are encouraged. Get in touch with head ambassador Chris Rietmann through their website at BitNH.me. Though we’re already ten years in, this is still just the beginning. It’s definitely not too late for you to get involved with cryptocurrency. Step one is educating yourself. Bitcoin Embassy NH can help.

Come celebrate the tenth anniversary of Bitcoin today at 2pm at Local Burger, one of Keene’s premier businesses that accepts cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and DASH! If you can’t make it today, join our Meetup group as we meet every six days at various locations in the Keene area.