10 Jan 2014 / KTOO – Bitcoin is not just speculation, it’s also a way to pay for products and services.
Introduced in 2009, bitcoin is a digital currency, or cryptocurency, not backed by any country’s government. The currency that only exists on the internet has been growing in popularity over the past year and a half.
Now, a couple businesses in the capital city are starting to deal in bitcoin and accept it for payment.
In the Alaska Robotics shop in downtown Juneau, shelves are lined with comic books and graphic novels, local art hangs from the walls, and kids talk about Minecraft.
“Do you have any comic books about Minecraft?” a young customer asks shop owner Pat Race.
“Oh, that’s a good question. I don’t think we do… ” Race replies checking his inventory, but he sees that such a comic book does exist and says he’ll order it.
“It’s kind of sciencey,” the customer explains. “You put sand in a furnace and make glass”
Besides Minecraft, another hot topic at the shop is bitcoin. Owner Pat Race got his first bitcoin last spring. “I sent a MoneyGram off to some Eastern European country and then my bitcoin appeared in some account.”
Race bought $150 worth, which, at the time, equaled one bitcoin. Since then, the value of bitcoin has fluctuated. “Back at the beginning of 2013, the price was about $18-$19 for a bitcoin and it peaked at about $1,242 in mid-Nov. and then immediately crashed down to almost $500 in Dec. and is back up to about $800-$850,” Race explains.
Race wants to incorporate bitcoin into his business…… Read more
http://www.ktoo.org/2014/01/10/juneau-businesses-take-the-bitcoin-lead/
