Bitcoin in the heart of Europe – Cointelegraph Magazine

Prague is the birthplace of the world’s first hardware wallet, the first Bitcoin mining pool, and, reportedly, even the first Bitcoin cafe. It is among the most affluent cities in Central Europe, visited by millions of tourists each year.

Ranked as one of Europe’s most charming and beautiful cities, Prague is a burgeoning tech hub with a new generation of crypto-saavy individuals populating its streets.

Fast facts

City: Prague
Country: Czechia
Population: 2.7 million (Metropolitan Area)
Established: 8th Century
Languages: Czech, Slovak, English, Ukrainian, German, Vietnamese, Russian

Understand

Known for its bridges, majestic fortifications and Bohemian architecture, Prague was voted the most beautiful city in the world last year by Time Out Magazine. At the crossroads of Europe, it’s visited by over 8 million tourists annually and has become a popular choice among filmmakers as a backdrop, including the makers of Mission: Impossible and Casino Royale. 

More than 1,000 years ago, the migration of the Czech people — a Western Slavic tribe — founded the City of Prague on the banks of the Vltava river. Prague quickly developed into a major metropolitan center in medieval times and was the seat of many Bohemian kings who would also reign as the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. 

Ruled over variously by the Austrian Empire, a short era of independence, and then by Nazi Germany, Prague managed to escape destruction at the hands of Nazis or Allied bombers. But after just three years of independence after the war, communists backed by the Soviet Union staged a coup and toppled the country’s democratic government in 1948. Development stalled during communist times, and despite a flicker of hope for liberalism in the Prague Spring of 1968, it wasn’t until the Velvet Revolution protests that the ruling communist party resigned on Nov. 28, 1989, putting the local people once again in charge of their own destinies. 

Crypto culture

Today, Prague is a leading tech hub in Central Europe. Having changed currencies once a generation due to their various rulers and independence, the Czech people are known for monetary skepticism and have enthusiastically adopted digital currencies. This interest has been compounded by the growing inflationary pressure on the Czech koruna (CZK), which stood at 18.0% per annum in June 2022. 

Firms such as SatoshiLabs, Alza, Trezor, Braiins and many others have ramped up education about digital assets in the country. However, the Czech National Bank has largely remained on the sidelines with regard to regulating the industry. While interest in crypto remains strong among the Czech people (especially those in Prague), recent industry blowups and bear market sell-offs have hampered confidence somewhat. 

But that does not take away from the fact that it was here where the world’s first hardware wallet, first Bitcoin mining pools and first Bitcoin coffee shop all came into action within the past decade. In recent years, Prague has also become a hotspot for digital nomads, being voted as the top destination in the world for remote work, along with Krakow, Poland in 2021. Thanks to the effort of early adopters, the city is rife with crypto meetups, hackathons, venues and seminars that make it distinct from its neighbors in Central Europe. 

Notable Projects

Nowadays, cryptocurrency hardware wallets are renowned for their ability to safeguard investors’ assets in a self-custodied manner, but just who invented them? The idea all started in 2011 after a Bitcoin conference in Prague.

Two crypto enthusiasts, Pavol “Stick” Rusnák and Marek “Slush” Palatinus envisioned a small, single-purpose computer that would securely store users’ Bitcoin private keys. In 2013, the two founded SatoshiLabs. The following…