05 Feb 2014 – Marketwatch – “I’ll buy $796. $797. $798!”
So yelled a man in a bow tie from his perch above a sea of bitcoin enthusiasts ready to buy and sell the virtual currency on Monday night. The action took place in the newly created Bitcoin Center NYC on Broad St., just steps from the New York Stock Exchange.
Richie Hecker stood at the edge of the trading hub clutching a $100 bill. “I’m going to buy $100 of bitcoin tonight. The question is at what price,” he said.
Hecker pushed through the crowd to get closer to the men yelling buy-and-sell orders, which took place under distinctive blue lights. He motioned with his $100 bill when he heard a price he liked, in the early $800s, but was eclipsed by a man who jumped ahead of him. That man was Nick Spanos, who co-founded the Bitcoin Center NYC.
The frantic trading was part of Satoshi Square, the informal meet-up that allows people to buy or sell bitcoin for cash. It emerged as a source of local liquidity for bitcoin enthusiasts in New York, who often gathered in Union Square or the midtown bar EVR owned by bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem, and soon spread to other cities and countries. The event’s ascent to a building near the New York Stock Exchange is just the latest indication of the interest and funding behind bitcoin, which saw its price soar in 2013 from $13 to more than $1,000…. Read more
