Channel @swisscryptochallenge

Hello everybody. I am Zahhar – geek, entrepreneur, infoanarchist and admin of this channel. I am located in Zürich, Switzerland. I have been involved into cryptocurrencies since 2016. On the 1st of June I accepted #CryptoChallenge proposed by https://fatcats.market/ — first and largest classified marketplace where any legal goods and services can be traded for cryptocurrencies.

During upcoming 30 days I will try to live normal life without using fiat money in any form. If I would do it and use cash or credit card – I am failed. I will explore opportunities in Switzerland and around it to figure out what goods and services can be purchased in online and offline for Bitcoin, Etherium, Litecoin, Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies. Is it possible to book a hotel? Or to rent a car? Pay for a meal? Or get entertained? Will see.

Alongside I would explore how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are adopted in Switzerland. Interviews with people investing in bitcoin, mining and traiding it, also visiting different related venues and events are planned. Stay tuned.

I am not alone in my journey. My beloved and beautiful wife Taisiia acts as an operator of all the videos, she helps me with planning upcomming activities and promoting this channel. She is shy to step in front of the camera, but does a great job on the backstage. Also fatcat.market crew is helping with finding merchants willing to sell for cryptocurrencies, and brings them to the marketplace to make their products available for me and other buyers worldwide. They are also taking care of video cut and promotion.

And, of course, my journey would not be fun without your support. If you are enterpreneur who offer goods or services for cryptocurrencies, or you know places in Switzerland that accept cryptocurrencies — please let me know.

Now, it is time to start our journey!

2018-06-02 00:44

Good morning everyone. I survived the first weekend of the challenge: no single Swiss Frank was spent, while my expenses in BTC are 0,0054 (equivalent to 40 CHF).

A short spoiler while full video is being cut: finding food in Zürich was easier then expected. Now my default place to have breakfast, lunch and dinner (at least before I find another one) is Café & Beck Oberstrass. They are open daily, and accept bitcoins.

Then I got rid of all remaining cash, converting them into bitcoins in SBB Ticket Machine. Fee was huge – 6%, and rates are not best in class, but it was the closest option.

2018-06-04 10:54

Hi all. First video that covers my last weekend is finally ready.

Contents:
00:00 — 05:20 Introduction, game rules, cheating and preparations for the challenge
05:21 — 09:00 Visiting Café & Beck Oberstrass at Zürich, purchasing my first beer for bitcoins
09:01 — 10:55 Topping up Bitcoin wallet via ticket machine at Zürich train station, that accepts cash
10:56 — 12:30 Struggling to find food for bitcoins on top of the panoramic Hoher Kasten mountain (1790m, near Appenzell, Swiss Alps)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQ8fa79JmA

2018-06-07 00:21

Good evening. Time for a short update for the period from 1st till — 10th of June:

🔅Total spent: 0,14510 BTC in 11 transactions, plus 2 transactions to top-up Bitcoin wallet with cash, and 1 transaction to create a paper wallet (see it in next video).

🔅Only one cryptocurrency was used — Bitcoin; while Bitpay gateway also allows paying in Bitcoin Cash, I do not store them in my mobile wallet.

🔅Smallest transaction: 0,00528 BTC. It was 0,33l alcohol-free beer @ Café & Beck Oberstrass (= 4CHF)

🔅Largest transaction: 0,08099 BTC. Yesterday I purchased 2 tickets to St. Petersburg @ Airbaltic.com (= 505EUR)

🔅I purchased only food (10 transactions) and airline tickets from 3 merchants. You will know about 3rd merchant in the next video.

🔅All merchants I had interaction with were using BitPay gateway. We will talk about it later as well. To use BitPay I had to install another mobile wallet — Mycelium — in addition to Coinbase wallet I already had.

❌ I could not install neither of BitPay official wallets (not BitPay itself, nor Copay) into my LG G2 powered by rooted Android 5.

❌ After Bitcoin lost almost 10% during this weekend I have to spend more bitcoins to buy food, as merchants actually convert Swiss frank priced tags into BTC.

❌ Budgeting and spend tracking is almost impossible, as I could not find any app that would track my cryptoexpenses if they are done via different wallets.

✅ In Switzerland it is possible to buy wine for bitcoins (did not try yet, but will do soon).

2018-06-11 22:35

🆘 This weekend I plan to spend in Münich. I am going to travel 300km there and back, but I have only half of the petrol needed for a trip. That is why I am looking for a ’Godfather’ who would sell me 40l of petrol in Münich this weekend, 16.06. For any crypro, ofc. If there is one – please contact me. Thank you.

2018-06-12 22:27

2018-06-16 17:54

Reached Münich. Thank you all for support! This is the nearest place where I found supermarket that accepts Bitcoins. Shop is called 'Süper Market', it is located in the center of Markt Schwaben, a small town 20km from Münich.

This is a family-run business, that specializes in Turkish delights, but also sells everything you expect from a grocery store: fruits, vegetables, etc.

2018-06-16 17:55

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Second video that covers my weekend between 8. and 10. June is ready.

Contents:
00:00 — 01:56 Road to Zug town, known as cryptocapital of Switzerland
01:57 — 03:21 Visiting Etherium headquarters in Zug (kind of)
03:22 — 05:28 Humble attemts to ask people in Zug about cryptocurrencies
05:29 — 07:16 Creating a paper wallet using one Bitcoin ATM from largets network operated by Värdex Suisse
07:17 — 10:59 Ordering sushi from food delivery marketplace Takeaway-dot-com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duC0xcQe0Bs

2018-06-19 23:56

Good evening. This is a weekly report for period from 11—17th of June:

🔅Total spent: 0,12439 BTC in 17 transactions with 6 merchants.

🔅Smallest transaction: 0.00233 BTC (= 13 EUR). It was 2x small Corvus absinth bottles from Lars, owner of Corvus distillery in Münich . You will meet him in my next video.

🔅Largest transaction: 0,05841 BTC (=330 EUR) for 3 nights in Mercure hotel in Münich.

🔅Miners fee for all my transactions since beginning of the month is roughly 1EUR.

🔅I met merchants who used BitPay, Copay, Coinbase and Blockchain-dot-info wallets, but all of them were interested only in accepting Bitcoin, giving me no chance to spend my altcoins.

❌ I could not use my paper wallet — merchants are simply too suspicious about it.

✅ Booking a hotel was a breeze, thanks to Destinia-dot-com – seems to be the only booking website that accepts crypto in Europe now. Stay tuned for the next video where this topic will be also covered.

2018-06-21 23:54

Surviving this cryptoweekend is hard: after Bitcoin rate fell to 5900$ all my purchases cost me roughly 20% more — assuming I bought my Bitcoins on June, 1st when the rate was 7500$. Such volatility — 20% in 20 days — is one of the biggest challenges for Bitcoin adoption among merchants. Nobody wants to set their prices in Bitcoins, and all they do it accept them via payment gateways to exchange into fiat the same day.

2018-06-24 12:30

Apologies for delay, ladies and gentlemen. Too much happened in between, but I am still alive. Special thanks for all of you who asked how am I. I am fine, and happy to present you third video of SwissCryptoChallenge to resurrect this channel.

Contents of the 3rd week, 11-17 July:

00:00 — 01:04 Welcome to Munich
01:05 — 07:10 Booking a hotel. Expedia, Booking-dot-com or Destinia?
07:11 — 08:18 Hotel experience
08:19 — 13:39 Visiting Süper Market in Markt Schwaben near Munich
13:40 — 16:56 Interview with Lars, founder of Corvus Absinth distillery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZYlOVQ-1Oo

2018-07-20 02:52