Bitcoin goes retail in Portsmouth, New Hamphire

Making Bitcoin Real: Portsmouth, NH, Businesses Begin Accepting BTC - Joel Valenzuela, Cointelegraph:

August 26, 2016 - "Another establishment has begun accepting Bitcoin as payment in what is fast becoming one of the most Bitcoin-centric towns in the United States.

"Street, a posh restaurant featuring food inspired from around the globe, began accepting Bitcoin earlier this month. The integration came as a result of outreach by Steven Zeiler, a local software developer and Bitcoin evangelist, who has also succeeded in getting a local yoga studio he frequents to take Bitcoin.

"Matt Carano, owner of The Music Class (which also takes Bitcoin) and former owner of the Pão Cafe,  one of the first restaurants in New Hampshire to take Bitcoin ... appreciates the ability to use Bitcoin locally, not just through online transactions....

"According to Mike Vine, technology evangelist for the Blockchain-based content-sharing platform LBRY, New Hampshire’s vibrant Bitcoin scene can be traced back to the Free State Project involvement....

"The Free State Project hosts the Porcupine Freedom Festival, or PorcFest, a weeklong festival in a mountain campground with a heavy emphasis on Bitcoin and decentralized technology. Largely thanks to the efforts of the Free State Project movers, New Hampshire ranks as one of the world’s most Bitcoin-friendly places.

"A touristy, seaside town of only 20,000 residents in a mostly rural state with a low population, Portsmouth is an unlikely destination for a vibrant Bitcoin community. Yet, in addition to the above mentioned businesses, it is also home to several Blockchain startups.

"Vine also founded the Praxeum, a Portsmouth-based co-working and community space, with Carano. He sees New Hampshire as a future renowned hub of Blockchain and decentralized tech innovation....

"Arcade City, the Blockchain-based ride-sharing service with a new app slated for release on September 1st, was founded in Portsmouth, and owes its origin to the Free Uber campaign, which protested against the city’s ride-sharing regulations by Bitcoin-funded swarm activism."

Read more: https://cointelegraph.com/news/making-bitcoin-real-portsmouth-n-h-businesses-begin-accepting-btc
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Porcfest as glimpse of libertarian paradise

In New Hampshire, Living for a Week in Libertarian Paradise - ABC News - Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press:

June 24, 2016 - "T-shirts promoting 'Bitcoins not Bombs.' An ice cream stand selling cones of 'Bananarchy.' A refurbished school bus housing young men debating the presidential candidacy of Gary Johnson. "

"Welcome to PorcFest, a weeklong camping festival billed as a libertarian utopia of sorts in the mountains of New Hampshire. Run by the Free State Project, the annual festival attracts 1,500 people from across the nation, who started trickling in Sunday.

"Called 'porcupines,' the animal that serves as a logo for libertarians, they come to share ideas and be among others who dream of a small government society where taxes are limited, trade is free and people are allowed to eat, imbibe and inhale whatever they please. The festival, officially called the Porcupine Freedom Festival, offers a glimpse into the kind of libertarian paradise Free State Project leaders hope to one day create statewide....

"This year's PorcFest comes at a key moment for the Free State Project, a plan devised in the early 2000s to persuade 20,000 libertarians to move to New Hampshire en masse. New Hampshire was chosen, in part, because of its "Live Free or Die" motto and the relative ease of getting elected to office: The state's citizen legislature has 424 seats. In February, the movement earned its 20,000th "signer," the threshold that is supposed to trigger a mass move within five years.

"Matt Philips, the group's president since March, estimates 2,000 people have already moved. The group is now working to convince other signers — some of whom committed more than a decade ago — to join them. Philips knows all may not come, but his ultimate goal is to hit 20,000 incoming residents....

"Guns are indeed allowed freely at PorcFest; a posted flyer reminds gun carriers: 'Be respectful. Be careful. Be safe.' Marijuana is freely smoked too, as most participants believe the drug should be legal.

"Food and other goods are sold in a mini marketplace for cash or Bitcoin, the virtual currency that operates outside of government regulation....

"Philips said he hopes for a future where Free Staters can openly identify themselves as members of the project and begin to rapidly expand their message statewide."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/hampshire-living-week-libertarian-paradise-40104633

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World's largest libertarian meetup June 19-26

PorcFest, 'largest gathering of libertarians in the world,' to meet in New Hampshire - Washington Times - Jennifer Harper:

June 11, 2019 - "While Democrats and Republicans are busy planning their national conventions in July, Libertarians have the upcoming Porcupine Freedom Festival — or “PorcFest” — next week.

"Staged in the piney woods of northern New Hampshire, this political and cultural gathering is described by organizers as the 'the libertarian version of Burning Man,' and 'the largest gathering of libertarians in the world.' They expect about 1,700 attendees.

"The prickly porcupine is the official emblem, “Don’t tread on anyone” is the  motto. Now in its 13th year, the event has been organized by The Free State Project, a liberty-minded non-profit seeking to inspire like-minded folk to make their homes in the Granite State....

"'With [Gary] Johnson breaking double digits in the polls, everyone’s asking: Who are these people? While the Libertarian Party convention was a good primer on the quirks and qualities of your average libertarian, there’s no better place to see what they’re all about than PorcFest,' a spokesman told the Washington Times. 'Visiting PorcFest is the best way to see Libertarianus Americanus in his or her natural habitat,' he added.

"There will be meet-ups for dogs, drum circles, much music, multiple family outings, a costumed gala, plus classes in bonfire making, 401K tax traps, fiber arts, homeschooling and 'gun etiquette'.... PorcFest’s lineup of speakers includes author and Fox News contributor Kristin Tate, Atlas Society founder David Kelley, George Mason University economist Christopher Koopman, Reason magazine editor-in-chief Matt Welch and several state lawmakers.

The event begins June 19, at a campground about two hours north of Manchester. Find the PorcFest here."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/11/porcfest-largest-gathering-of-libertarians-in-the-/
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'Libertarian utopia' at Porcupine Freedom Festival

Inside the libertarian version of Burning Man: Guns, booze and bitcoin - The Washington Post - Ben Terris:

July 2, 2014 - "Like any good bonfire, the evening ritual at the Porcupine Festival deep in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, includes a drum circle, plumes of marijuana smoke, shared bottles of whiskey and spirited debate.

"There are also guns. Lots of guns....

"Once a year for the past 11 years, this campground in the northern part of the Granite State turns into a libertarian utopia. And this year, roughly 2,000 people — mostly white men — have paid between $45 and $100 to experience for one week what life would be like without the onerous mechanisms of laws, if the market ruled to the exclusion of all else. Want to wear a loincloth and sell moonshine, shop at an unregulated market that accepts Bitcoin and silver, or listen to a seminar called “How the Collapse of the State is Inevitable”? Then this is the place for you....

"Porcfest — as it’s known here — is put on by the Free State Project, a group dedicated to recruiting at least 20,000 libertarians to move to New Hampshire. The idea — that a group of this size can make a difference in a state with a low population — came from an essay in 2001 by then-Yale doctoral student and current Dartmouth lecturer Jason Sorens. Thirteen years later, the FSP has had nearly 16,000 people sign a 'statement of intent' to move. The plan is that when 20,000 people sign the list, it will 'trigger' a large migration. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500 people have moved already."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inside-the-libertarian-version-of-burning-man-guns-booze-and-bitcoin/2014/07/01/74d9d996-ffcf-11e3-b8ff-89afd3fad6bd_story.html
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