Over the years, Bitcoin has developed into the most popular digital currency in the world, with value-highs of almost £20,000.
While at first, very few vendors would accept Bitcoin in exchange for goods and services, now there are hundreds of small businesses and huge companies alike including Shopify, Gap and Expedia that accept the cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, in the world of tech where Bitcoins originated, there are entire industries that are embracing Bitcoin. For example, not only do many iGaming platforms encourage the use of Bitcoin, there are entire online casinos such as Vegas Casino tailored specifically to you if you wish to play only in digital currencies. Tech giant Microsoft has also started to accept Bitcoin, further encouraging techies to adopt alt coins to make in-game purchases and other transactions.
Clearly, Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular around the world. In fact, according to recent data compiled by Bitinfocharts there are a total of 28.5 million individuals who own at least 0.001 BTC. Still, does this mean that Wales is interested in Bitcoin or other digital currencies at all? Is cryptocurrency something that the Welsh people have started to adopt themselves?
In late December 2017, Wales Online published an incredibly interesting article exploring the lives of ordinary Welsh folk that are making money using Bitcoin. It all begins with an Elite Bitcoin ATM, hidden away in a somewhat unusual area in Cardiff named Womanby Street. This particular street is home to a number of coffee stalls, a shop specifically tailored to local skaters and a vintage clothing store, but it is the Bitcoin machine that appears to draw the most attention. This is because it allows anyone with a wallet to buy and sell Bitcoin, and if you’re doing the latter you can withdraw a Bitcoin value in traditional cash just like a normal ATM.
One of the Elite Bitcoin machine users that Wales Online interviewed was skate shop co-owner Mike Ridout, a Cardiff native who was originally encouraged to buy £50 worth of Bitcoin by a friend years ago.
“I just looked after it and now it’s worth £15,000,” Ridout told WO reporter Anna Lewis. “I haven’t spent it so it just sits there and I’m wondering what to do with it… I’m hoping [Bitcoin] will become a little more regulated.”
Of course, Ridout isn’t the only one using the Cardiff-based cryptocurrency machine. Self-employed fashion designer Michael Smith was also interviewed for the article, as he had recently found login details for a Bitcoin app he’d used five years ago and has now discovered he owns £13,000 worth of Bitcoin. A 55-year-old mother also came from Rhymney to use the Bitcoin ATM prior to doing her Christmas shopping. She states that her son had encouraged her to buy some Bitcoin a year ago and now the family has invested around £800, hoping that the value will reach $100,000 one day soon.
These individuals are simply a few of the self-taught investors who are getting involved in cryptocurrency around Wales, with many others said to be partaking around the country. In fact, there’s even an online group named Bitcoin Wales, made up of members who wish to push for Bitcoin adoption around the country. According to the official website and founder Stephen Draycott, Bitcoin Wales also wishes to educate their fellow Welshmen on how digital currencies work and the benefits of using said currencies.
It isn’t just your everyday members of the Welsh public that have been investing or are meeting up to discuss cryptocurrencies. Property developer and investor Adrian Hibbert bought $100,000 worth of Bitcoin in 2015, which is now thought to be worth around £7 million. There’s also IT worker James Howells, who is infamous at this point after offering Newport Council £7.4 million to dig around their landfill looking for his Bitcoin hard drive with £74 million worth of Bitcoin on it. Howells had accidentally thrown the hard drive – known as a wallet in cryptocurrency circles – away, like a proper wholly.
Without a doubt, it appears that there are indeed a number of Welsh natives who are very interested in Bitcoin and other digital currencies. We think the person who says it best is the 55-year-old mother-of-one who made her way to the Bitcoin ATM back in December 2017.
“We’re just seeing if we can make a difference to our lives,” she told Wales Online, “instead of plodding on through the same old wheel.”
Ultimately, that is what Bitcoin offers; an alternative route to riches that hasn’t been tried before. Of course, we’d love to know your opinion on this topic. Are you interested in Bitcoin or do you prefer your traditional cash? Let us know in the comments below.