Open a Manchester Based Bitcoin Hub

Adam Bates is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

ON-HOLD (Last updated: 2nd Nov 2023) due to:

1: Due to illness we have been unable to further action work for the plan which the GoFund was for.

2: We have been advised to take (and am seeking) further advice regarding the operation of a BTC Hub (Based around the FCAs updated laws which have recently come into effect)

With the two above points in mind we have decided to refund any donors for the time being.

The project:

To create a fully inclusive Manchester Central-based Bitcoin Hub (but if we don’t reach our targets for this then we’ll become a Mobile Pop-up Hub operating around Manchester and the UK, see further details below)

A little backstory:

We currently have a Bitcoin Hub based in Bury, Greater Manchester called Satoshi's Place. Satoshi's Place Bury opened in September 2022 becoming the first UK-dedicated Bitcoin hub, this was our pilot, and with 15 months left on the lease to its Bury site the plan was to see if a Bitcoin-focused hub could work and if its Founder (Adam) could bring together the communities he'd work with for the past 10 years to share knowledge and guidance.

It has been an awesome journey since we opened, even with the downfalls of our pilot site we can see the huge potential of a more centrally located and accessible Bitcoin Hub.

Bury Venue Downfalls:

- The location: We heard many times that our Bury site hasn't been the easiest place for people to visit, we also understand our footfall around the Bury site is very limited!

- Staffing: Good staff are always hard to find, add Bitcoin into that mix (Just Bitcoin in words) and the potential staff members gets reduced, more staff would have allowed us to open for longer hours and more often

- The Venue: The Venue is restricted in how it runs events due to its layout, add to the fact that our front room is ideal for workshops but folk looking through the front window see what looks like a School

The plan:

With a range of targets, we have 3 main plans based on the different targets shown below:

Any funds we raise up to our £125k target, we will be going mobile, this entails:

- Popup Shops and Satellite Events around Manchester, in Venues, shopping malls and shared spaces offering:

- A Mobile ‘Lightning’ bar, offering a range of drinks and Snacks, purchasable via Bitcoin (Of course) as well as licensed offerings including our custom brew (Satoshi’s Brew) and Lightning Cocktails

- A Mobile Marketplace, with all the merch from our Bazaar i.e. Hardware wallets, Bitcoin Socks, Bitcoin Books and more, on sale.

IF we surpass £125k but don't hit our £450k target, we will work to operate a Manchester based ‘Minimum Operation’, this will entail:

- A Lightning Bar offering a range of drinks and Snacks, purchasable via Bitcoin (Of course) aswell as licensed offerings including our custom brew (Satoshi’s Brew) and Lightning Cocktails

- Events & Meetups, bi-weekly (Aiming for weekly) events and meetups focused around Bitcoin.

- Marketplace setup with all the merch from our Bazaar i.e. Hardware wallets, Bitcoin Socks, Bitcoin Books and more, on sale.

- Gaming Screen, based on the work we had planned with ZDB, we have screens ready with controllers and powerful PCs to run the games, we’ll also have tournaments around these games.

- Various screens showing information like: Real time Bitcoin transactions happening, BTC statistics and Lightning Statistics

Our planned opening hours / days will be, Thursday, Friday, Saturday with the hours of 5PM to 10PM

IF we hit £450k we can operate a Manchester based ‘High Impact Operation’, this will entail everything from the Minimum Operation above but will also entail:

A full food offering with our Custom Food Menu, this would be expanded from our current offering also adding desserts.

Hot Desking: Our Hub will be open for Hot Desking for both non-coiners and Bitcoiners.

Events & Meetups, for the High Impact Operation we’ll be hosting weekly events and meetups focused around Bitcoin, the goal after a few months is to offer an event / meetup every few days (Either our Bitcoin Beginners workshop or another Beginner level / newbie aimed workshop).

A dramatic increase of our opening hours, our planned opening will be Monday to Saturday and have the opening hours of 10AM to 10PM

Of course, this High Impact operation requires us to bring additional staff in, we already have a Chef and assistant lined up but would need to place a job advertisement for additional Bar staff aswell.

Along with the offerings above we also have in development for this operation:

- Lighting ATM (In discussion with the FCA)

- Self-Service Beer machines

The Manchester Hub Venue will support Bitcoin Manchester as a location for it to host its Monthly event, aswell as any other Bitcoin events (With their eligibility being determined by a series of Pre-Reqs and discussed in a public group), if they need a venue, they can host it with us.

- The funds will be transferred to Satoshi's Place Ltd business bank account, if we are able to directly link that bank account on our GoFundMe page then the funds will be directly deposited into the account.

With this raise we have a set of different targets, these are:

Any funds we raise up to £125k will go towards the Mobile, Pop-up Bitcoin Hub, the funds will be used for:

- Travel expenses

- Advertising (Inc Roller banners etc)

- Site fee expenses

- Misc (Insurance, Mobile Internet etc)

- Staff wages (NOTE: Management don't take any wages)

NOTE: The targets of £125k & £450k for the Manchester Based Hubs are based on a 3-year operation to cover operational costs including:

- Venue security deposit

- Venue outfitting

- Rent

- Advertising

- Bills including: Gas, Electric, Insurance, Water, Fire Safety, Waste Removal, Internet, Accountant etc

- Advertising

- Staff wages (NOTE: Management don't take any wages)

All funds will be documented and accounted for, the documentation of the funds will be shared online via a platform like Google Drive and reviewed by a qualified accountant.

Legal:

- We are a fully inclusive hub, you do not need to know anything at all about Bitcoin to experience our products and services.

- The Hub is Bitcoin focused and will only ever accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, we do however also accept FIAT via Cash or Card

- Management / Admin staff like Adam DON'T take a wage from any money raised.

- The hub doesn’t and won't state anywhere (Visually or Verbally) to invest your Money into Bitcoin

- The Hub states DYOR (Do your own research) BUT you can ask Questions at the Hub and the answers aren’t biased (i.e. we aren’t sponsored or paid to say ‘Bitcoin some Bitcoin from here)

-In the near future we will work alongside Satoshi's Place Foundation (A Charity currently being created), SBF is being built to operate and manage Bitcoin Educational events which will be held at hub and independently

- Satoshi's Place Ltd will operate the Hub, Any profits from our LTD will be donated to SBF, these will all be transparent and records of this will be available for anyone to view.

- Private investors can contact us at: invp-ar@satoshisplace.co.uk, FYI All donations will be transparent

- We already have licenses in place (i.e. Adam is a Personal license holder) and have experienced partners who can help us apply for any additional licenses we may require,

- GoFundMe isn't a preferred funding method HOWEVER we do understand folk want to donate FIAT.

Either Way our Crowdfund goes it has been awesome to see and hear everyone's support over the past 10 months! We had a load of international travellers from Japan, Turkey, USA & Germany (And more), been sent gifts from all over the world, had feedback from all over the world, met some awesome people, onboarded folk into the space and got to know a truly awesome chunk of the Bitcoin community.

A big thanks to:

We truly appreciate the time, effort and feedback folk have put into the Hub, A very big shoutout and thanks go to Stefano, K, Chris, Lee H, Lee (BTC Lee), Alex, Ross, Matt, Taz, HighlandHODL (& Team) and Jonathan (Sorry if we missed anyone!)

They’ve provided feedback, gifted equipment, helped source stock, advised us, and dedicated their time to the Hub! Truly appreciated.

Stefano has been the life at the Hub! If we could C&P Stefano, we would have at least 5 of him! Stefano + Satoshi’s place = Magic! Thank you, Stefano!

Also, a big thanks to the teams at CoinCorner & FastBitcoins!

Here are some photos of our current Hub:

Our Lightning Bar