Patrick van der Meijde, founder of BitKassa and co founder Arnhem Bitcoin City joins me to talk about his experience with co-founding one of the earliest Bitcoin ‘circular economy’ communities in 2014. 

How he got started
Taking payments pre-lightning
Are there enough people spending?
Resurgence in circular economies
Adopting Bitcoin Arnhem City

Links:

 X: @PatrickvdMeijde
Site: adoptingbitcoinarnhem.com
Site: arnhembitcoinstad.nl 
Cofounder @BitKassaNL
Cofounder Arnhem Bitcoin City @Bitcoinstad
Youtube: 10 years of merchants accepting bitcoin in Arnhem  

Sponsors:

Swan.com (code LIVERA)
CoinKite.com (code LIVERA)
Mempool.space

Stephan Livera Links:

Follow me on X: @stephanlivera
Subscribe to the podcast
Subscribe to Substack

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and Background
01:55 - Bitcoin Narratives in 2014
04:45 - Transaction Fees and Challenges
08:46 - Arnhem Bitcoin City and its Evolution
09:55 - Context of Arnhem City in the Netherlands
11:45 - Capital Gains Tax in the Netherlands
12:33 - Impact of AML Regulations
14:13 - Merchants Keeping Bitcoin
15:00 - Swan.com
16:14 - Mempool.space
17:11 - Coinkite.com
18:40 - Merchant Churn and Turnover
23:35 - Importance of Local Community
28:55 - Adopting Bitcoin Conference in Arnhem
31:32 - Transition to Lightning Network
35:45 - Success Rates of Lightning Network Payments
36:30 - Improvement of Lightning Network
37:53 - Conclusion and Event Details