The city of Tel Aviv, located at the heart of Israel and home to about 400,000 residents, is considered to be one of the world’s leading cities when it comes to Bitcoin adoption.The city is a dream come true for new Bitcoin users as it has everything needed to start using the cryptocurrency.The Israeli Facebook Group “Israeli Bitcoin” is an extremely active group with over 4500 members; while the Israeli Bitcoin Meetup Group hosts an active stream of lectures about the Bitcoin ecosystem.With more than 1,800 members, the Israeli Bitcoin Meetup Group gets together twice a month at the Google Campus on the outskirts of the city.
Located at the heart of Tel Aviv’s financial district, The Bitcoin Embassy TLV is where Bitcoin entrepreneurs in the country come together to work on Bitcoin-related projects.The embassy also plays host to different Bitcoin-related events organized by the city’s Bitcoin community.“The Embassy, as we call it, is the home of a large community of people from all walks of life, hosting lectures, courses, tutorials, and even the GBA meetings.It provides an open office setting that anyone can use along with a fully stocked fridge and coffee machine.
Many consider the Embassy as the Parthenon of Bitcoin,” said Bitcoin ambassador Eli Sklar.Two events are held at the embassy every Sunday. One event is the Satoshi Square where Bitcoin users’ trade using the digital currency while the other is a Bitcoin security workshop for beginners.With 150 registered members, the nonprofit Israeli Bitcoin Association (IBA) is in-charge of ensuring that citizens of the country are able to fully reap the benefits of Bitcoin.The IBA handles regulatory issues concerning Bitcoin in the country as well as promoting the digital currency and supporting its users, researchers, and businesses.
“For us, Bitcoin isn’t just Bitcoin – all open trade technologies are within our scope. One of our core values is transparency.We are among the rare organizations that videotape and upload for public viewing all of our board meetings, allowing everyone to see exactly what is going on,” said the chairman of the organization, Meni Rosenfeld.Presently, there are four Bitcoin ATMs located throughout Tel Aviv and 150 businesses accept the digital currency as payment.
Of the 150, 50 of those are traditional stores.The businesses which accept the currency include tattoo parlors, kindergartens, one car repair shop, lawyers, as well as 15 bars and restaurants.The past year has seen many notable Bitcoin events been held in the city. The first event was the two-day long Inside Bitcoins Tel Aviv event which was held last year in October.
The 350 attendees listened to lectures from the likes of Peter Todd, Meni Rosenfeld, and Vitalik Buterin.“As Israel is alive and kicking Bitcoin hub, we thought it would be a great place to host a large-scale international event and indeed and it was a great success!” said event organizer Nimrod Gruber.The second notable event was the Bitcoin Hackathon held in March of this year. The event was attended by 100 people, half of whom stayed up all night to decentralized apps.“The purpose of the Hackathon was to expose new entrepreneurs, designers and developers to the opportunities within Bitcoin and the Blockchain, and indeed some of the teams had their first acquaintance with Bitcoin in the event itself,” said Hackathon co-organizer Reuven Palatnik.Tel Aviv is on the fast-track to becoming the leading city for Bitcoin adoption in Israel and perhaps even in the whole Middle East.
