The easiest litmus test for bitcoin’s cultural status is to simply ask people: “Do you know about bitcoin?”

https://i.imgur.com/UISnQXO.jpg

I found that throughout most of 2017, the prospects were pretty good. More people seemed to know about bitcoin than not. Despite the mainstream media’s idea that this was some obscure and risky financial instrument, the word at the grassroots level was mostly neutral - people wanted to ask questions about it.

<h3>Raleigh Has Amped It Up</h3>

Ever since I hit the Raleigh coffeeshop scene the amount of bitcoin conversation I am overhearing has increased tenfold. It’s insane.

Just the other day while I sat and had some coffee, these two other guys sat down near me. They proceeded to have a passionate conversation about bitcoin mining, with one person sounding like the experienced expert and the other asking a lot of questions.

Then the next day at a different place I heard a group of six people literally standing around at the bar (I think they all worked there) and saying - “Is there a place to go for bitcoin stuff? Like, reddit?” 

So of course I said - “You guys should check out Steemit” and ended up showing a few of them the site for 15 minutes. There was even some talk of a bitcoin meetup.

This is nuts. It seems like the scene in Raleigh has a dense concentration of blockchain industry people.

<h3>The Triangle</h3>

It’s not too surprising to find out that blockchain is big here. The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area consists of three cities that are all pretty close to each other in North Carolina, and it’s collectively known as the “triangle”.

<center>https://i.imgur.com/LOxVri5.png
<sub>source: wikipedia</sub></center>

There is a huge tech scene in the triangle. [Red Hat](https://www.redhat.com/en/about/company) has a big presence here as do several other large companies, and it is sometimes thought of as the “silicon valley of the east”.

Raleigh is a much more up-and-coming city with a lot of excitement as opposed to Silicon Valley which is more established, basically SV is the incumbent right now.

<h3>Meeting the Local Community Adds Depth To The Blockchain Experience</h3>

It’s easy to forget that the whole point of blockchain is to bring communities together. By cutting out the middlemen of the government and the banks, we make it possible for people to rely on each other in smaller groups. 

It’s a healthier way to live and may result in less corruption/crime/bullshit.

Perhaps more importantly this is a way to use cryptocurrency directly. When you meet other people who have digital wallets for these coins, it is completely feasible to buy and sell things in cryptocurrency tokens without converting to fiat at any point in the transaction. 

If anybody I know ever needs to pay me any amount of money, I’d give them a 10% discount to do it in steem. No question! As more people (and businesses) think this way, the currencies will gain usage and probably some more value too. 

And it’s fun to meet new people anyway.

Have you overheard any blockchain talk in your city?

<center>https://i.imgur.com/hgkeIwR.jpg?3</center>