Bitcoin arrives in Southbank

The international digital currency phenomenon Bitcoin has come to Southbank, with the group establishing Australia’s first Bitcoin ‘Embassy’ on City Rd.

The concept, which has taken off in countries across the globe including the United States, France and Germany, was officially launched at 91 City Rd on Monday, November 22.

The Melbourne Bitcoin Technology Centre is a not-for-profit workshop offering free corporate working space to the local community, which can be utilised for any purpose.

A second Australian embassy has since opened in Perth with a number of other embassies currently proposed in other cities around the country.

Embassy “ambassador” Bruno Timpano called on the Southbank community to come and utilise the public space and learn more about Bitcoin.

“Bitcoin adoption and community awareness has been difficult due to it being a new and emerging technology, but also because it lives ‘in the cloud’,” he said.

“Staying true to Bitcoin being global, the Bitcoin Embassy networks are global community hubs united in their independence and are open for the people.”

“They are, in effect, and ironically, the first non-nation-based embassies.”

Bitcoin is a form of digital money, which is often defined as “crypto currency” and was established five years ago in response to the global financial crisis.

It is the first truly “country-less” monetary denomination and is the only currency not printed from a central reserve bank, meaning it is not subject to inflation, bailouts, austerity measures or quantitative easing.

Currency can be sent at the speed of an email anywhere in the world devoid of bank fees and, while the technology hasn’t been widely rolled out yet, it can be used in retail stores via QR code scanning.

The City Rd embassy was donated by Bitcoin Group, which will soon be the first company in the world to launch an entirely Bitcoin focused and orientated company on a stock exchange with the intention to list on the ASX via an IPO in early 2015.

The embassy is located at L1/91 City Rd in Southbank.