Come join the vibrant blockchain community in Bali: Fun, travel, and blockchain economy all in one!

Hi, my name is Jim.  I discovered a vibrant community of cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiasts in Ubud, Bali, near a forest with 600 monkeys and a field of rice patties.  Yes, Bali, of all places - not London, New York, Hong Kong, or Tokyo.   If you happen to be around this part of the world - whether for work, travel, or just exploration - come join in!

(In case you are curious, this is a picture of monkeys here in Bali.)

The community is very diverse, ranging from beginners just learning about Bitcoin to entrepreneurs working on fin-tech projects and researchers who fly in from other parts of the world.  One time, we hosted a talk by Jean-François Noubel, a forward-thinking researcher proposing alternative protocols and forms of measuring wealth:   

Every Tuesday evening, the group gathers for discussion and debate at Hubud co-working space (http://www.hubud.org), recently named one of the top 10 co-working spots by Forbes.  Led by Gary Dykstra, a veteran of the payments industry, the group covers recent developments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other parts of the crypto and blockchain world.  Blair Jones, a veteran from the banking industry, has also been helping facilitate some of the sessions.  Past topics of discussion and debate have included the Bitcoin halving, the DAO collapse, and the Ethereum hard fork.  Most recently, we had a discussion on Steemit and its potential.  

At Hubud each month, a course called Bitcoin 101 is being offered to beginners, both in English and in Bahasa Indonesia.  Folks interested can sign up via the Bitcoins @ Bali website.   Link here: http://bitcoinsinbali.org

Many of us in the community have been very active in promoting a Bitcoin and blockchain based economy in Bali and Indonesia.  For example, Stephen DeMeulenaere, a long time currency enthusiast and founder of the Complementary Currency Resource Center, has been outlining plans to engage more restaurants and merchants to adopt Bitcoin.  The group has also engaged bitcoins.co.id, the premier local Bitcoin exchange in Indonesia, in a partnership.

Gary, Stephen, and the team have made a great video on building a Bitcoin and crypto-currency based economy at Bali.  Sharing it here: 

If you are a blockchain enthusiast and plan on traveling to Bali, then come over to Hubud co-working and join our weekly discussion group!  And while you are here, check out the Bitcoin and blockchain economy we are building