@Roelandp Presented Steem Fest in Berlin

Yesterday's Bitcoin Exchange Berlin was again a very steemed event. @roelandp gave a great introductory talk about Steem and presented Steem Fest, which he organises. 

@roelandp

He came all the way from Amsterdam for our modest meetup. I am very glad he took the time for us. It was fascinating to see the enormous enthusiasm he has stirred in the Steem community by his initiative. 

Steem Inc. and several whales have donated money - not just for the event itself, also for a travel fund, which supports people who could not afford the trip otherwise. 

Roeland shows some of the Steem Fest speakers and participants

Many Steemians have offered their help on a voluntary basis. There was even one volunteer from Berlin in the audience: Juan Miguel, originally from Cuba, who is creating logo animations for Steem Fest.

Juan Miguel Salas, Steem Fest animator (with mobile phone)

We had visitors from German State Television channel ARD, who interviewed me in the afternoon. Then they tried to capture a bit of the atmosphere at Oak & Ice, BXB's venue. 

ARD German State Television shoots a Bitcoin purchase

They are working on a one hour documentary about the Dark Web and all things crypto which will be broadcast on the 9th of January - if they finish the editing in time. They have not only shot in Berlin, but also at the Hackers Congress in Prague and at several locations in China and Iceland, so they have lots of footage.

Before we started, they interviewed some visitors. I am curious to see how they will explain cryptocurrencies to their audience. It must be quite a challenge, as German State Television is mostly watched by viewers above 60 years, who have probably never heard of Bitcoin, Steem or the Dark Web before.

ARD interviews first time BXB visitors

We had many people who visited BXB for the very first time. This was great, as BXB is an event for newbies - there are lots of meetups in Berlin for the in-crowd. Many of them came through Andreas Meyer, yesterday's other speaker.

Andreas Meyer

He presented Avalon Life, a company based out of Costa Rica, which mines different kinds of cryptocoins. Their miners are powered by renewable energy, both photovoltaic and geothermic. Costa Rica has 360 days of sunshine and 11 active volcanos, which are a great source of energy for the night time and the few cloudy days.

Avalon Life organises their own events to inform people about Bitcoin and other crypto money, and obviously many of their visitors used the opportunity to learn more at BXB. Nice to see so many new faces!

When the talks were over, many people still stayed to chat and have a beer. Oak & Ice usually does not serve alcohol, but this was a private event that lasted much longer than their usual opening hours.

Thanks, @roelandp, Andreas and everybody else for coming and making this event so nice and inspiring. And thanks, Nastya, for the great pictures!