Amsterdam Bitcoin City

Bitcoin popularity in The Netherlands is seeing all-time highs, as the Amsterdam Bitcoin City initiative recently signed three more retailers. Despite this initiative only starting in November of this year, no less than 24 retailers are accepting Bitcoin payments in their brick and mortar store so far.

In order to get as many retailers as possible on board, a strategic partnership had to be formed between BitStraat and BitPay. For those of you who have never heard of Bitstraat, they are a Dutch bitcoin company offering retailers all the tools they need in order to accept Bitcoin payments in a professional and secure way.

They also take care of converting Bitcoin transactions to fiat currency, which is then deposited into the retailer’s bank account within 48 hours. And the best part is that there are no fees for the retailer at all, not for the Bitcoin payment itself, nor for the conversion from BTC to fiat currency when receiving funds in their bank account.

While Bitstraat offers an amazing package in its own right, BitPay has managed to sweeten this deal even more. The first 100 retailers to become a member of Amsterdam Bitcoin City will receive a Bitcoin payment starter kit,completely free of charge. One of the most important tools in this starter kit is a custom-built Bitcoin point-of-sale terminal, which is actually a modified tablet running the Bitstraat application.

Furthermore, every single one of these terminals comes with a personalized BitPay merchant account, allowing retailers to keep an eye on their transaction history and download transaction reports. On top of that, every retailer has the option to keep a certain percentage of each transaction in Bitcoin, instead of converting the full amount to fiat currency.

Until the retailer handles 900 EUR or more worth of Bitcoin transactions a monthly basis, these payment terminals remain completely free of charge. Once that threshold is reached, there are two options : keep the terminal for a monthly fee of 10 EUR, or buy the terminal for a one-time fee of 120 EUR. As of right now, there are still 82 terminals available to Amsterdam retailers who want to become a part of this initiative.

As I mentioned in the introduction, three new merchants have signed up to become a part of Amsterdam Bitcoin City : cooperative creative hub Open Coop, ecological builder’s market Ego-Logisch and bar/restaurant Trust. Considering the Amsterdam Bitcoin City initiative has only been around for nearly two months, having 24 retailers on board is nothing short of amazing, and very good news for Bitcoin adoption in The Netherlands.

However, there is still a long way to go in order to make Amsterdam the world’s Bitcoin capital. Bitstraat and BitPay want to sign up at least 100 brick and mortar stores accepting Bitcoin payments, so a lot of work lies ahead. If they can keep up their current pace, it won’t take that long to reach their intended goal.

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Source : http://coincourant.nl/amsterdam-bitcoin-city-groeit-naar-24-deelnemers/