Longtime readers here know that Keene and Portsmouth New Hampshire are two hotspots in the world of cryptocurrency. The Western and Easternmost cities in New Hampshire are living proof that cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or DASH can be used successfully at retail, with multiple downtown local mom-n-pop businesses accepting crypto at point-of-sale. Though real life crypto usage is not all about delicious handmade pizza, BBQ, Indian food, burgers, or alcoholic beverages that you can buy with crypto in downtown Keene, it’s also about products AND services.

Keene’s newest vape shop, Lineage Vapors recently opened in the Center at Keene on Gilbo Ave and is accepting both Bitcoin (BTC) and DASH. While Corner News has been selling vaporizers and accessories for years (and accepting crypto for longer than anyone in Keene), Lineage Vapors is a full-on vape-only shop and worth checking out. That makes Lineage Vapors the third business in the Center at Keene that accepts crypto. Little Zoe’s Pizza was first and was recently joined by Curry Indian Restaurant who serves excellent Indian and Pakistani cuisine seven-days-a-week for both Bitcoin (BTC) and DASH. Not only is the food great, it’s also nice to know that cryptocurrency helps local merchants by keeping more money in their pockets and therefore in the local economy but can also easily be sent internationally if needed, for next to no cost. This can surely help families like the Alis who run Curry Indian send money to relatives worldwide, bypassing the expensive, slow, old money methods of remittances like Western Union and the big banks.

In addition to food, convenience items and vaping, and even auto repair (all available for crypto in Keene), you can add dentistry to the list with Dr. Drower Dentistry receiving coverage in the Keene Sentinel for accepting cryptocurrency. In his press release announcing the welcoming of cryptocurrency-paying patients, Dr. Sean P. Drower said, “For digital coin to become useful in everyday life people need to be able to use it as currency, for something besides speculative investing.” Kudos to Dr. Drower for helping lead the way into the future of money.

Dr. Drower Dentistry, Curry Indian, and Lineage Vapors are all part of the DASH-Back program active now in Keene, where customers get an instant rebate in DASH whenever they spend DASH in Keene and at other New Hampshire merchants. DASH-Back is really cool and only happening in New Hampshire, thanks to Portsmouth-founded Anypay.global, the merchant point-of-sale crypto processor.

Also joining DASH-Back in Keene is longtime crypto-friendly Main St. hair salon, Moda Suo. Proprietor Nicholas Sansone was one of the original Bitcoin-accepting downtown businesses, however their original merchant provider, Coinbase, just wasn’t built for retail. So this week Moda Suo upgraded to the Anypay Point-of-Sale system, enabling DASH-Back for any customers who pay with DASH.

One of the really cool things about living in a place with a high concentration of crypto-accepting merchants is there’s a business-to-business crypto economy already developing. Business owners who are accepting crypto are finding ways to spend it with other crypto-accepting Monadnock businesses. For instance, one local business owner is currently ordering a shed from Route 101 Local Goods with her crypto she’s been saving up. Multiple local businesses have purchased advertising in the Monadnock Portal Map with cryptocurrency. Even radio ads are now available for crypto in Keene thanks to the sales manager at classic rocker 101.9 The Peak and sports radio 93.5 WEEY.

Plus, the local cryptocurrency Meetup group recently surpassed over 100 members and the group regularly attracts crypto-newbies to its real-life meetups held every eight days.

It’s really an exciting time of expansion for cryptocurrency in one of the top global hotspots, Keene, NH. According to Coinmap.org, Keene already handily beats major cities like San Francisco and New York when ranked per capita for crypto-accepting merchants. It’s only going to get better as more liberty-friendly cryptocurrency advocates move to New Hampshire as part of the NH freedom migration and add their economic strength to the area! Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest news on the developing crypto scene across New Hampshire.