Bar in Berlin that accepted Bitcoins since 2011 closes

Entrepreneur Jorg Platzer closed the Room 77 bar, where customers could pay for orders with Bitcoin. He wrote about it on Reddit.

According to the owner, the first crypto payment at Room 77 was accepted in 2011. After the bar in the Kreuzberg district attracted interest from members of the Bitcoin community, Bitcoin Core developer Eric Lombrozo noted that his visit to Berlin would never be complete without a stop at Room 77.

‘This place will forever remain a part of Bitcoin history’, he wrote.

I remember when I first met Joerg and he told me he had this little restaurant/bar in Berlin. From then on, a visit to Berlin was never complete without stopping by Room 77. This place will always remain part of #Bitcoin history.

— Eric Lombrozo (@eric_lombrozo) October 18, 2020

In this bar, Jeremias and Nikolaus Kangas began work on the famous p2p platform LocalBitcoins. Also here, in 2010, Andreas Schildbach worked on the first mobile Bitcoin wallet.

Platzer did not disclose the reason for closing the bar. He thanked the customers for their tips and stressed that ‘Bitcoin will not be stopped by anyone’.

Regulars of Room 77 linked the owner’s decision to restrictions due to the coronavirus. In Lombrozo’s view, the problem is not only COVID-19. The bar was a site where the first cryptocurrency was used, which, the developer says, is ‘too dangerous’.

#Room77 was not just a covid-19 spreader. It was also a #Bitcoin spreader. Obviously it was way too dangerous. https://t.co/j7fPBnpzfd

— Eric Lombrozo (@eric_lombrozo) October 18, 2020

Former Monero lead developer and Tari project co-founder Riccardo ‘Fluffypony’ Spagni says that many people ‘bought their first Monero’ at Room 77.

Little known fact but Room77 was also an early Monero adopter, they even used Kasisto (early Monero PoS app). Lots of people even bought their first Monero at Room77! https://t.co/45gUSmIqnP pic.twitter.com/BMc3wQOH8o

— Riccardo Spagni (@fluffypony) October 18, 2020

Earlier, Germany’s financial regulator recognised digital assets as financial instruments. The basis for such a classification was the partial alignment of the cryptocurrency definition among several organisations, including the Financial Action Task Force.

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