The Peter McCormack Show

Building a Bitcoin Community with Thomas Pacchia


Listen Later

“It’s a special thing when somebody comes in and they pay in Bitcoin. And they go through sort of the ritual of getting out the separate POS and it’s the Zeus wallet, which has an awesome user interface. And you’ll have people a couple of barstools down just sort of looking over, like ‘What the fuck is that?’”
— Thomas Pacchia

Thomas Pacchia is a Bitcoin entrepreneur and the co-owner of Pubkey, a Bitcoin bar in New York City. In this interview, we discuss how a desire to revive a local bar after Covid inspired the establishment of Pubkey, its importance as a focal point for Bitcoin in New York City, and how its success could inspire more Pubkeys in more cities.

- - - -

The leisure industry has taken a battering during Covid, and many businesses have fallen by the wayside. These places are hugely undervalued: bars in particular are relaxed locations that can cement neighbourhoods, providing spaces for people to interact outside of the pressures of work and family. And once they’re gone, that’s usually it.

However, bars don’t only work for localised communities, they can act as a haven for disparate communities bonded by a shared passion, heritage or sexual orientation. Heavy metal bars, sports bars, Irish bars, gay bars: these can be vital meeting places for those seeking like-minded people, particularly in an atomised international city. Well, now you can add Bitcoin bar to the list.

Whilst many of us were slowly trying to make sense of the post-Covid world, Thomas and his wife decided to be the change they wanted to see. They saw a chance to take on a local dive bar and create a haven for Bitcoiners in New York. In a few short months, they have turned that pipe dream into a reality. It is now the go-to venue for Bitcoiners in the Big Apple.

Built from the principle that it must first and foremost win its reputation for service, food and ambience, it has also forged a strong and unique Bitcoin-centred character. It hosts regular BitDevs, mining and Lightning meetups. It also hosts events such as live podcast shows! As a result, it has become a very popular haunt. And there are plans for other Pubkeys in other cities.

So, what’s the secret sauce? As a regular punter put it in a recent Bloomberg article about Pubkey “I like drinking and I like Bitcoin”. Simples.

- - - -

This episode’s sponsors:
Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantly
Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably
Ledn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlers
Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is here
Ledger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware wallet
Fortris - Digital asset treasury operations
Wasabi Wallet - Privacy by default

-----

WBD629 - Show Notes

-----

If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:

Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contribute

Make a tip:
Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2S
QR Codes: Bitcoin
If you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank you

Subscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS Feed

Leave a review on iTunes

Share the show and episodes with your friends and family

Subscribe to the newsletter on my website

Follow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTube

If you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Peter McCormack ShowBy Peter McCormack

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

2,137 ratings


More shows like The Peter McCormack Show

View all
TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast by Marty Bent

TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast

753 Listeners

Bitcoin Audible by Guy Swann

Bitcoin Audible

430 Listeners

The Bitcoin Standard Podcast by Dr. Saifedean Ammous

The Bitcoin Standard Podcast

425 Listeners

Stephan Livera Podcast by Stephan Livera

Stephan Livera Podcast

414 Listeners

The Pomp Podcast by Anthony Pompliano

The Pomp Podcast

1,836 Listeners

What Bitcoin Did by Danny Knowles

What Bitcoin Did

227 Listeners

The Wolf Of All Streets by Scott Melker

The Wolf Of All Streets

223 Listeners

Swan Signal Live - A Bitcoin Show by Swan Bitcoin

Swan Signal Live - A Bitcoin Show

181 Listeners

The Bitcoin Matrix by Cedric Youngelman

The Bitcoin Matrix

84 Listeners

The "What is Money?" Show by Robert Breedlove

The "What is Money?" Show

667 Listeners

Coin Stories by Natalie Brunell

Coin Stories

400 Listeners

Simply Bitcoin by Nico Moran and Optimist Fields

Simply Bitcoin

73 Listeners

Rabbit Hole Recap by ODELL and Marty Bent

Rabbit Hole Recap

120 Listeners

THE Bitcoin Podcast by Walker America

THE Bitcoin Podcast

31 Listeners

Money Matters with Jack Mallers by Money Matters with Jack Mallers

Money Matters with Jack Mallers

97 Listeners