For nine years, the Bar was a meeting point for enthusiasts of the pioneer of cryptocurrencies. The Bitcoin community nostalgically recalled the moments lived in the historic venue.
The German Bar Room 77, famous for being one of the first places in the world to accept payments in Bitcoin, announced the definitive closure of its doors, leaving nine years of history behind. Jörg Platzer, the owner of the place, posted a farewell on Reddit noting, that it is not something temporary, so they will no longer be available to receive bitcoiners from the world.
“ROOM77 closes its doors, our mission is over. It is time to return to our planet. Thanks for all the fish and all the generous tips, “wrote Platzer without revealing the real reason for the closure. However, some people say that the coronavirus pandemic may be responsible for the cessation of operations of the place due to the financial impact that has affected all sectors of the economy.
The place is part of the history of Bitcoin. Some people believe that the first bitcoin transaction was accepted for a beer in 2011. Platzer is convinced that this was the first purchase in the world that was made in a store, restaurant, or bar with the queen of cryptocurrencies.
The Bar also serves as a symbol of the birth of the Bitcoin scene in Europe, as it was there that the first meeting of bitcoiners in the world took place. The first Bitcoin ATM on the European continent was housed within its walls, and it is said that at one of its tables the brothers Jeremias and Nikolaus Kangas sat down to shape the p2p market for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, LocalBitcoins.
“No organization created more media coverage than Room 77 that year [2012],” Platzer said, adding, “A lot of people said that was the moment that Bitcoin came down from the sky and hit the ground in the real world,” such as CoinDesk reviewed.
Since the birth of Bitcoin, the world has changed, and today there are hundreds of places that accept payments with BTC but until recently you had to fly to Berlin and go to this small establishment located in Kreuzberg to live the experience of paying a consumption with bitcoins. Room 77 not only accepted payments in Bitcoin, but it was also a place that truly believed in the ideals related to cryptocurrencies.
In his particular farewell note, Platzer notes that the Room 77 mission is already completed, considering that the first ten years of Bitcoin were crucial. From his point of view, it was known that in the early years of Satoshi Nakamoto’s creation, there would be forces that would try to slow down his development.
Twitter becomes the room of nostalgia
During all these years, Room 77 received many personalities currently active in the crypto industry. Many of them even expressed nostalgia for the moments spent in the Bar. Among them, Parity’s communications manager, Phil Lucsok, wrote a tweet about his experience: When I got bitcoin for the first time, I just wanted to spend it somewhere. I came to Room 77 in early spring 2013 and asked for coffee because I did not want beer or food; I just wanted to spend some decentralized currency for the first time in my life.
By: Jenson Nuñez.
